After ejection, Boone mimics ump during tirade

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone made the most of his latest ejection.

After being booted by plate umpire Laz Diaz over a called third strike in the eighth inning Monday, Boone launched into a theatrical, arm-waving display that included a mocking imitation of Diaz.

It was the American League-leading sixth ejection this season for Boone, who admitted to being "pretty upset" after the Yankees' 5-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox. The final straw for Boone apparently was a called third strike on Yankees rookie Anthony Volpe, who seemed upset at Diaz although the pitch in question appeared to be a strike.

Boone jawed with Diaz from the dugout, prompting the ejection, before running to home plate to continue the argument. Boone bent down at one point and drew a line in the dirt at the edge of the left-handed batter's box, demonstrating where he thought the pitch was, and then mimicked Diaz emphatically calling strike three.

Boone acknowledged after the game that the pitch to Volpe "was a strike, maybe," but said "there were a ton of pitches all night" that Diaz missed. He specifically cited a rally-thwarting called third strike to DJ LeMahieu in the seventh inning that appeared to miss the strike zone.

"I just thought there were a ton of pitches all night, culminating I think with DJ," Boone told reporters. "[There were] a couple of pitches in his at-bat where he struck out with first and third there."

New York left 13 runners on base and struck out 12 times despite drawing eight walks in the game. It was the sixth loss in the last nine games for the Yankees (58-55), who fell 5½ games behind the Toronto Blue Jays (64-50) for the final wild card in the AL.

"It's on us to still break through," Boone said. "We had our chances tonight. It's not about the umpiring. We've got to capitalize."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.