New York Yankees head coach Aaron Boone has blamed the stadium's roof being opened in Houston for their loss to the Astros on Thursday night.
The Yankees have now fallen to a 2-0 against the Astros, who need two wins to advance to the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies or San Diego Padres. In what has been described by Yankees fans as 'the worst excuse of all-time', coach Boone stated that the stadium had played a part in their loss.
Aaron Judge connected with a pitch in the eight innings which looked like it could be heading into the stands for a home run, but it landed short, with the Yankees down one score heading into the final innings where they would go on to suffer the crushing defeat.
Boone told reporters: "Who would have thought, I think the roof open kind of killed us. I think it’s a 390[-foot] ball. … I didn’t think he smoked it like a no-doubter, but it felt like his homers to right."
Fans have reacted angrily to Boone's quotes, with one stating: "Worst excuse ever!!" And another saying: "Boone literally just said the roof beat them. How do you expect to win when your coach is this much of a loser? These morons are gonna run this same group of failures back again."
New York radio host and sports personality Mike Francesa also vented his frustrations at the Yankees and coach Boone. He tweeted: "Yanks sound like losers after the game. Shut up about exit velo. Try hitting the ball."
Although advancing with a playoff series victory over the Cleveland Guardians, the Yankees have struggled at the plate - and have continued to do so against the Astros.
The Yankees will now need to win four of the next five games against the Astros if they are to advance to the World Series.
They will be returning home for the next two games of the series, with game three getting underway on Saturday.
