Boone defends pulling Fried as Yanks fumble lead

NEW YORK -- Yankees manager Aaron Boone's in-game pitching decisions were nether the microscope yet again aft helium pulled starter Max Fried amid 6⅓ scoreless innings Tuesday night, arsenic New York's bullpen faltered successful a 3-1 nonaccomplishment to the Boston Red Sox successful Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series.

Boone said helium really planned to assistance Fried aft the sixth inning, but Fried inducing a treble play and sitting connected 99 pitches prompted him to reconsider and fto his ace lefty get 1 much retired successful the seventh.

Fried did that, and past Boone went to his bullpen. Luke Weaver walked the archetypal batter helium faced and allowed a treble and Masataka Yoshida's pinch-hit two-run single. David Bednar gave up back-to-back hits successful the ninth to springiness Boston immoderate breathing room.

Boone defended his determination connected the ground that Fried faced accrued unit successful the fourth, 5th and sixth innings and had to enactment hard to get done them.

"I felt similar his bid was not arsenic bully those last few," Boone said. "He's conscionable making truthful galore large pitches, and his worldly was good. He gave america what we needed and felt truly bully astir the outing helium enactment forth, but I felt beauteous convicted. Especially we got the treble play, it's like, 'Let's spell get 1 much hitter and beryllium good.'"

Fried allowed conscionable 4 hits and threw 63 of his 102 pitches for strikes, and the Yankees led 1-0 connected Anthony Volpe's solo location run. Fried bushed Jarren Duran successful a contention to archetypal basal for the last retired helium recorded and felt helium "had capable successful the vessel for immoderate the squad needed."

"I decidedly felt bully astatine the end, coming retired feeling good," Fried said. "I'm going to enactment successful until I get the shot taken from me."

Boone made that telephone and handed it to Weaver, who has not been the aforesaid since returning successful June from a stint connected the injured database with a strained near hamstring. The righty had a 1.05 ERA successful his archetypal 24 appearances earlier getting wounded and past a 5.31 implicit his last 40 games.

"I'll instrumentality Weave determination astatine the bottommost of the order, particularly with an retired successful the books," Boone said.

Weaver started disconnected Ceddanne Rafaela with 2 strikes earlier walking him successful an 11-pitch sheet appearance. It snowballed from determination with Nick Sogard doubling and Yoshida driving successful two. Weaver didn't grounds an retired and exited with the Yankees trailing.

"They enactment a bully attack together, enactment the shot successful play and recovered the holes," Weaver said, describing his pitching arsenic competitive. "I cognize there's a batch of disappointed people, including myself, but I conscionable got to beryllium better."

There were plentifulness of pregame decisions questioned, too, with left-handed hitters Ben Rice, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Ryan McMahon not successful the lineup against Boston starter Garrett Crochet, who got 23 outs earlier chap lefty Aroldis Chapman recorded the last 4 to adjacent it out. Crochet retired 17 consecutive batters aft Volpe homered.

But aft turning to Nestor Cortes successful the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers past twelvemonth -- with Freddie Freeman hitting a walk-off expansive slam successful Game 1 connected Cortes' archetypal transportation -- and making different calls to the bullpen that didn't enactment out, Boone enactment himself successful presumption to beryllium second-guessed again.

He expressed nary regret astir the decisions afterward, different than lamenting Weaver not getting Rafaela out.

"I felt bully astir him going done there: Sogard and past astir apt a pinch-hit lefty there," Boone said. "They played a mates hits connected him wherever [he near it] possibly conscionable a small up with a mates of the pitches much than helium wanted."

It's a acquainted publication for the Yankees, w...