With a 6-4 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, the ejections started flying for the Yankees.
Cameron Maybin went down looking, setting off a chain of events. Aaron Boone was the first Yankee tossed, as it looked like the Yankees skipper was trying to defend Maybin before being tossed himself by home plate umpire Ben May.
While Boone was arguing with May, Brett Gardner began hitting the top of the dugout with a bat, something he's done before to show his displeasure with the umpires. First base umpire Phil Cuzzi ejected Gardner, who then ran out of the dugout to argue.
"We objected to a few calls," Boone said. "I start in there not wanting to get one of our guys, if I can, out of the game.
"I was inside already when all the Gardy stuff happened … Obviously I think it got taken too far."
Boone said that the Commissioner's Office has not given him any indication that Gardner hitting the dugout roof was against the rules, and that he did believe the umpires were looking out for it.
"In kind of talking with Gardy and watching it back, I think it's clearly something that they were probably looking for with us. I haven't received any memos or anything that that's illegal.
"We get a little passionate in that dugout at spots, and I don't think Gardy was doing anything more than that … Frankly, I think it got escalated because they came looking for it."
"I wasn't happy about it," Gardner added. "I didn't feel like what I did warranted an ejection. I know it's something that I've done before, but when this happened a week or two ago in Toronto when I got thrown out, that didn't have anything to do with hitting the top of the dugout ... Frustrated that I got thrown out, but again, didn't feel like I did anything to warrant the objection. It's unfortunate but I'm glad we got the win."
CC Sabathia, who is currently on the Injured List, was also tossed from the dugout along the way.
Some of the frustrations for the Yankees may have also stemmed from the fifth inning, when James Paxton wanted a strike three called. The pitch was called a ball, and Carlos Santana singled home Francisco Lindor later in the at-bat.
"We're playing for a lot right now, and you can feel that with all of our guys. We're in this thing to - we're playing for keeps.
"It is our job too to play under control, and as best we can, not cross lines, because certainly we don't want players getting kicked out of game. I don't like getting kicked out of games, but you know what, when you're playing for a lot sometimes, and you're looked in like we are, in the heat of battle you can get a little passionate and it can spill over a little bit."
