Sports

Yankees' Aaron Boone "Kicking Himself" Over Difficult In-Game Decision

By Joe Najarian Athlon Sports

The New York Yankees were dealt a frustrating 6-4 loss to the Athletics on Saturday.

Arguably the person most frustrated about the defeat was the Yankees' manager, Aaron Boone. After the game, Boone spoke with YES Network clubhouse reporter Meredith Marakovits and expressed regret over a decision he made later in the game.

"I feel like kind of kicking myself," Boone said. "Probably after he got the second out, through the bottom of the order, definitely a case there to go for the leadoff hitter."

Boone was referring to a sequence in the bottom of the seventh inning, with the Yankees trailing 3-1. Starting pitcher Ryan Weathers retired the first two batters before walking A's leadoff man Colby Thomas. With Weathers at 106 pitches, Boone came out of the dugout to presumably make a pitching change (right-hander Camilo Doval was warming up in the bullpen), but chose to keep the lefty in the game to face left-handed slugger Nick Kurtz.

Weathers' next pitch turned out to be his last, as Kurtz drilled a two-run home run to straightaway center field to extend the Athletics' lead to 5-1. Boone then lifted the southpaw for Doval, who got the last out of the inning.

Aaron Boone Explains Thought Process Behind Decision that Backfired

Boone remained transparent when discussing his thought process behind the decision. Despite his regret over what happened, he didn't think leaving Weathers in to face Kurtz was a bad idea in of itself; rather, it was the timing due to Weathers' high pitch count.

"I don't question leaving him in there for Kurtz, I'm going to take my left-on-left shot there with two outs," Boone explained. "But after he got those first two, and throwing quite a few pitches to that point, that's the one where maybe I go to Doval there."

Kurtz, who won the AL Rookie of the Year Award last year, has continued his impressive production in 2026; entering Saturday's game, he was hitting .274/.427/.473, and he bumped that slash line up to .283/.432/.493 by going 3-for-4 with the crucial home run. But Weathers was also enjoying a great first season with the Yankees, as he held a 3.14 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 1.12 WHIP and 65 strikeouts over 57.1 innings heading into Saturday.

Weathers finished his 11th start by tossing 6.2 innings, allowing six hits and three walks while striking out 10. However, the Yankees' young lefty surrendered five runs, as three of the six hits were home runs (including the one to Kurtz).

Although the Kurtz at-bat resulted in the decisive run scoring, Boone's decision shouldn't be considered the primary factor in the Yankees' defeat. Rather, New York's lineup could only muster a single unearned run through the first eight innings off Athletics starter J.T. Ginn and relievers Hogan Harris and Justin Sterner. The Bronx Bombers gave themselves a legitimate chance to come back in the ninth, scoring three runs on bases-loaded walks against Jack Perkins and Scott Barlow, but Jazz Chisholm Jr. finally grounded out with the tying runs in scoring position to end the game.

Despite the tough loss, the Yankees still have a 35-23 record and trail the Tampa Bay Rays by just 1.5 games for first place in the AL East. They will look to claim the series against the Athletics in Sacramento on Sunday, with Will Warren facing Jacob Lopez. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 PM ET (1:05 PM PT).

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This story was originally published May 31, 2026 at 1:06 PM.

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