Rays drop Game 1 of doubleheader to Yankees 6-2

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees manager Aaron Boone got fired up at a rookie umpire in a profane rant , and New York awoke from a sleepy start to rally past the Tampa Bay Rays 6-2 in a doubleheader opener Thursday.

After Domingo Germán gave up solo homers to his first two batters, Gio Urshela hit a tying home run in the second off Yonny Chirinos, and Gary Sánchez smashed a go-ahead 17/1810 mph single off the glove of third baseman Yandy Díaz during a three-run fifth. Díaz had helped the Yankees come alive when he dropped Didi Gregorius‘ leadoff popup in the second for a two-base error.

Boone fumed after rookie umpire Brennan Miller called Brett Gardner out on strikes in the second inning. Miller, umpiring behind the plate for the fifth time in the major leagues, had punched out Aaron Judge in the first. Gardner batted in the second after Urshela’s tying, two-run homer and struck out on a 1-2 pitch.

Gardner returned to the dugout, slammed his bat into the bat rack nine times, then eight times into the dugout roof. Microphones caught Boone yelling that the pitch was outside to Miller, a Triple-A International League crew chief who made his big league debut April 20 as a call-up umpire.

Miller said, “I heard you, Aaron,” and when Boone persisted, the umpire ejected him. Boone ran out and kept up the argument, getting close to Miller’s face and clapping his hands for emphasis. He repeatedly called his players “savages” in the batter’s box and told Miller to “tighten it up right now, OK?”

Boone was tossed for the third time this season and the seventh time in two years as a big league manager.

Luke Voit singled in a run in the fifth and Urshela had an RBI double as part of a three-hit game that raised his average to .308. Aaron Hicks added a sixth-inning homer for the Yankees, who reopened a seven-game lead over second-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.

Germán (12-2) won his third straight start since recovering from a hip injury, allowing four hits in six innings.

After Wednesday night’s rainout was rescheduled as part of the doubleheader, the start was delayed 1 hour, 26 minutes because more rain was forecast. Austin Meadows homered on Germán’s fourth pitch and Díaz on his eighth, both curveballs. Meadows has five homers against the Yankees this season.

Chirinos (9-5) gave up five runs — four earned — and nine hits in five innings, including the 17th homer he allowed this season.

Charlie Morton (11-2) was to start the second game for the Rays against a Yankees pitcher to be announced.

DRAWING BOARD

Gregorius, adding to his Twitter emojis after Yankees win, debuted his Instagam portraits of Yankees teammates this week with Edwin Encarnación with a parrot on his right arm, a reference to Encarnación’s parrot wing motion during home run trots.

ANNIVERSARY

David Cone worked the doubleheader for the YES Network on the 20th anniversary of his perfect game against Montreal.

BUCK’S BACK

Former Yankees manager Buck Showalter, let go by Baltimore at the end of last season, is working this week as a studio analyst for the Yankees’ YES Network.