Did Aaron Boone's May ejection play role in Domingo Germán's perfect game?

Wednesday night's Domingo Germán perfect game might've been rooted in Oakland, but you can also trace its roots to the Yankees' May 25 loss against the Baltimore Orioles.

On that night, Aaron Boone got himself suspended by unleashing a series of invectives (and a little bit of spittle) aimed at home plate umpire Edwin Moscoso, who had seemingly made it his appointed duty to ruin Clarke Schmidt's live.

Blaming the umpire's inconsistency is often the lament of a loser, but ... the Yankees were losing ... so ... you might as well at least let him know. To the naked eye, Moscoso's strike zone looked wildly off on many of Schmidt's curves, while expanding ever so slightly for Baltimore starter Kyle Gibson's breakers.

Boone received a one-game ban for intensely reminding Moscoso that his strike zone looked terrible, claiming he didn't need an iPad review to spot a bum eye behind the plate. Well, wouldn't you know it, but Boonie and the Yankees drew Moscoso again on Wednesday night in what turned into a pretty important game.

Luckily, he nailed this assignment.

Last night's home plate ump for Domingo German's perfect game was Edwin Moscoso. Noticed this right away. I was at the game on 5/25. Yanks took the L against the O's. Boone got in his face. Got tossed. Edwin was much better last night. pic.twitter.com/Du59kFpgEr
— Keith McPherson (@Keith_McPherson) June 29, 2023

Umpire Edwin Moscoso was dominant in Yankees RHP Domingo Germán's no-hitter

Moscoso's scorecard backed up Boone's assertion in May (and so did the eye test).

This time, it cemented Wednesday's game as perfect on all fronts. Not only was Germán dotting corners out of nowhere after getting pasted by the Mariners and Red Sox, but Moscoso's eyes were also on point.

Umpire Edwin Moscoso called 46 of Domingo Germán’s 47 taken pitches correctly in yesterday’s perfect game. The one miss was a ball-called-strike on a 1-0 pitch to Shae Langeliers in the bottom of the 3rd. The plate appearance ended in a flyout. https://t.co/5qmgF5xdlU
— Umpire Scorecards (@UmpScorecards) June 29, 2023

46 of 47 pitches correctly called! Hopefully, that singular Langeliers botch wasn't the only thing standing between Germán and El Perfecto.

And just like that, Moscoso, the third Venezuelan umpire in MLB history, got the chance to be behind the plate for the first perfect game by a Dominican-born pitcher since the league was founded.

An historic night all around, and while defensive participants like Kyle Higashioka and Anthony Rizzo get their due, the home plate umpire shouldn't be forgotten, either. If Moscoso had blown a big one Jim Joyce-style, he would've been the headline. Let's give him props on a day he otherwise could've receded into the background -- and credit Boone, too, for making sure he was on his game the next time he drew the Yankees.

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