Breaking news: Yankees heavily blame Aaron Boone for crushing defeat on Friday.

It was a hopeful start to the evening. After five innings, the dugout erupted as the New York Yankees took a 5-2 lead.

However, life and baseball have a terrible way of bringing you low when you least expect it. You’re high-fiving everyone one second, and then you’re looking down into the merciless depths of an 8-5 defeat.

It seemed like a statement victory in Friday’s series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Rather, it became an example of how to run a baseball game poorly.

Max Fried fails at the most inconvenient moment.
The Yankees wagered $218 million thinking Max Fried would be their ace when they signed him in free agency. Until Friday, he had generally delivered.

However, in the sixth inning against the Dodgers, everything fell apart. Fried let up two singles and a double before letting Shohei Ohtani get a solo shot. Manager Aaron Boone remained with him even though it was the dreaded third trip through the order.

The outcome? A seemingly secure 5-2 lead was abruptly gone after four runs, part of which came after Fried left.

Fans were upset that Boone had not pulled Fried sooner. It wasn’t only retroactive. In actual time, it was an obvious error.

Ohtani and the offensive feast of the Dodgers
Shohei Ohtani didn’t simply appear; he burst forth. Dodger Stadium rang with the thunderclaps of two soaring home runs.

With unwavering concentration, Freddie Freeman recorded three hits and two doubles. The Dodgers’ top five hitters looked like a buzzsaw even without Mookie Betts, and Andy Pages drove in three.

Ohtani was 10-for-21 with seven runs and six RBI with Freeman, Teoscar Hernández, Will Smith, and Pages. The Yankees had no responses, and the poetry was insulting.

You could feel the momentum changing. Every hit seemed like a gut punch, and after the Dodgers seized the lead, the Yankees never really recovered.

Boone’s perplexing choices contribute to the downfall.
On Friday night, Boone was playing checkers, if baseball is a game of chess.

After Ohtani hits a home run, why leave Fried in? Alternatively, why not take him out right away after the single he gave up? Or the time he permitted another single?

Regardless of the lefty-on-lefty edge, Fried absolutely should not have faced Freeman a third time.

In the seventh inning of a game with just one run scored, why would you trust a low-leverage reliever like Yerry De Los Santos? New York’s hopes were dashed when he soon gave up three consecutive hits, adding two insurance runs.

When Dodgers manager Dave Roberts sent in Tanner Scott to face J.C. Escarra in the eighth inning with bases at the corners and two outs, why pinch hit DJ LeMahieu for Escarra?

LeMahieu ended the threat by flying out with a.494 OPS.

These are the times that distinguish winners from losers, pretenders from contenders. This year, Boone has achieved a number of strong games. This, however, was not one of them.

The Yankees’ defeat hurts because there are more pressing issues.
The Yankees are still playing well at 35-21. But there will be a lasting impact from this defeat and missed chance.

The Yankees’ defeat hurts because there are more pressing issues.
The Yankees are still playing well at 35-21. But there will be a lasting impact from this defeat and missed chance.
Fried will bounce back. The offensive will have better days. However, it persists when your manager’s choices directly cost you a victory.

Baseball has a pace, a heartbeat, and a rhythm. And things spin out of control when bad decisions upset that. It was that type of storm on Friday night.

Additionally, losing a game that you should have won feels more like a lesson than a defeat.