The New York Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds with a 4-1 win on Sunday, but neither team’s managers saw the end of it.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone and Reds manager David Bell were both ejected in the first and eighth innings, respectively.
Boone and Bell are the first opposing managers to get ejected in the same game this season. The matchup may have been a perfect storm for the two of them. Boone has the most managerial ejections over the last three seasons, while Bell has the second-most, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Boone managed to get booted before noon, a rare feat. While it was his 29th career ejection, it was his first to come so early in the day. The ejection came during the bottom of the first inning when a dropped foul ball from Yankees right fielder Jake Bauers was deemed to be a fair fly ball after a replay review.
Boone’s frustration didn’t seem to come from the call, but as a result of the umpires allowing Reds’ Jonathan India to score from first base on the play.
Bauers fell on a slide attempt to catch the ball, which first-base umpire Nestor Ceja signaled was a foul when India was rounding second base. Bauers didn’t rush to throw home and get India because he rightfully assumed the play was dead.
Then, the Reds successfully challenged the play.
To the surprise of Bauers and Boone, crew chief Brian O’Nora announced that the fly ball from Spencer Steer was fair for a double and India would be awarded home plate.
Boone quickly jumped out of the dugout to argue, and O’Nora was equally quick to kick him out. It was a somewhat predictable development, as managers are meant to receive an automatic ejection for arguing replay review decisions.
The Reds’ early 1-0 lead came off Luis Severino, in his return from a strained lat that forced him to miss the first month and a half of the season. It was the only run the right-hander gave up, striking out five in 4 ⅔ innings.
The Yankees took the lead in the fifth when Harrison Bader hit a two-run homer off Hunter Greene. Gleyber Torres added a solo home run in the sixth.
In the bottom of the eight, Bell took issue with an apparent quick pitch from Yankees’ Wandy Peralta. He was notably animated as he got the hook, his third this season.
Bell was ejected twice in the series, getting the hook on Friday after a routine substance check on Yankees’ Clarke Schmidt led to conflict.
Despite the ejections, the biggest takeaway for the Yankees will likely be the team’s ability to complete a sweep with star Aaron Judge on the bench.