Boone ejected after foul call on near Judge HR

TAMPA – “You want to talk about the single?”

No. While Aaron Judge's broken-bat hit through the left side of the infield on Sunday helped his stat line, it paled in comparison to the captain’s home run that wasn’t, a titanic eighth-inning drive that was ruled a foul ball in the Yankees’ 4-0 win over the Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Judge thought his blast to left field off Eric Orze was a home run, as did third-base coach Luis Rojas. The drive was initially ruled foul by third-base umpire Scott Barry, a call that stood as opposed to being confirmed when a crew chief review proved inconclusive.

“It was a fair ball,” Judge said. “But that’s why we’ve got replay. It’s not on the umpires; it’s tough when you’re in a situation like this in a Minor League park where the foul poles aren’t as high, so that’s why you have replay. They have every angle.

“ … I think everybody is kind of scratching their head, but [there’s] nothing I can do about it. They missed it, and I’ve just got to move on.”

Television replays seemed to indicate the ball was fair, costing Judge what would have been his eighth home run of the season. Statcast tracked the ball at 111.7 mph off Judge’s bat, traveling a projected 383 feet over a walkway and toward an area of trees at the Yankees’ spring home.

“It was probably the furthest ball I’ve ever seen hit,” said Cody Bellinger. “I couldn’t see it. I just knew it was one of the furthest balls I’ve ever seen hit.”

Judge raised a good point about the foul poles. Steinbrenner Field’s poles are 30 feet tall, the minimum for a Major League stadium, and appropriate for the venue considering there is only one seating deck. As a point of comparison, the foul poles at Yankee Stadium are 90 feet tall.

The lost homer led to manager Aaron Boone’s first ejection of the season. Judge was rung up on a called strike on the next pitch, which irked Boone enough to be tossed. Once on the field, he approached the third-base umpire Barry, asking how he’d missed the home run.

After the Yanks’ victory, Boone delayed his postgame media availability to watch replays of Judge’s drive in the club’s replay room. He said they showed what he thought in real time.

“It’s a home run," Boone said. "It didn’t go our way, though. … I get it’s high and towering, but then it goes to replay. I guess they couldn’t find enough [that was] conclusive. So we’ve got to live with the call.”