Yankees: 3 moments when Aaron Boone and NYY blew Wild Card Game

1. Losing Home-Field Advantage on Friday and Saturday

For all the things that went wrong on Tuesday, from Alex Verdugo’s rockets to the early pitching problems to Phil Nevin’s temporary mania, this game was … for all intents and purposes … lost when Aaron Boone decided to give away Friday’s game, leading to a Saturday disaster. Those two games, in tandem, placed this game at Fenway instead of in the Bronx, a change of scenery that directly affected the game.

Giancarlo Stanton’s first-inning shot off the monster is a homer in the Bronx instead of a confusing single that ruined John Sterling’s life. His pivotal play that messed with Nevin’s head also would’ve been a homer. Even with all the strife, we would’ve had a 4-3 Yankee lead in the middle innings.

Alas, Boone used Domingo German and Albert Abreu in a 2-1 game Friday night. Both men teamed up to fritter it away. He allowed the Rays to spiral into Saturday, when they pummeled Jordan Montgomery, officially erasing the advantage.

Of course … there was also the 7-2 Chad Green Game in Houston. The 4-0 Domingo German no-hitter in Boston. Chad Green with two outs in the ninth vs Kiké. Zack Britton in the Field of Dreams Game. Aroldis Chapman after a rain delay against the Angels.

There were a million winnable games this year spit into the gutter by Boone and his buddies that could’ve changed everything. Friday and Saturday against the Rays were only the latest. Tuesday was the last. Good riddance.

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