CLEVELAND — New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected in the first inning Wednesday against the Cleveland Guardians following a heated exchange with umpires over a play that was not initially reviewed by instant replay.
Boone spent several minutes pleading his case after the Yankees appeared to end the first with a double play. Cleveland had runners at second and third with one out when Josh Naylor hit a looper to center field that Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks appeared to catch with a sliding grab.
Hicks then threw to second for a forceout and an apparent inning-ending double play. However, as both teams left the field, a replay was shown on the giant left-field scoreboard of Hicks failing to make the catch.
It wasn't immediately clear if Guardians manager Terry Francona had requested a challenge in the allotted 15 seconds. Crew chief Larry Vanover huddled with the umpires for several minutes in the middle of the infield and first spoke to Francona, who appeared to be satisfied with what he was told.