SEATTLE — Three games in, the New York Yankees had given their fans every reason to feel good about 2026. A sweep of San Francisco. A dominant pitching staff. An offense starting to heat up. Then came Monday night at T-Mobile Park.
The Yankees dropped their first game of the season, 2-1, to the Seattle Mariners on a Cal Raleigh walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth. Within minutes, the debate had already shifted from the result to the decision that allowed it to happen.
A tight game that went down to one swing
Luis Castillo was the story for the first six innings. The veteran right-hander held the Yankees to just two hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts over six shutout frames. That included striking out Aaron Judge on a check swing in the sixth inning for the 1,500th strikeout of Castillo’s career.
Ryan Weathers, making his Yankees debut, held his own. He went 4 1/3 innings, gave up one run, and struck out seven of his own. The bullpen took it from there, keeping the game within reach.
The Yankees tied it in the seventh. Ben Rice led off with a single, Giancarlo Stanton reached on a fielding error, and Amed Rosario cashed the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly off Eduard Bazardo to knot the game at 1-1.
“I thought our whole team threw the ball well all night,” Weathers said. “Seattle threw the ball well.”
The score stayed tied through the eighth. That is when Boone turned to Paul Blackburn.
The decision that broke open the debate
Blackburn entered in the eighth inning and handled the Mariners without trouble, recording a clean frame. Boone sent him back out for the ninth. What followed ended the Yankees’ unbeaten start to the season.
Leo Rivas led off the ninth with a single to right. Cole Young recorded the first out on a flyball. Then Brendan Donovan singled to center, moving Rivas to third. That put the winning run 90 feet away with one out and Raleigh at the plate.
Boone did not walk Raleigh. He did not make a pitching change. Blackburn stayed in. Raleigh, who had been mired in a rough stretch to start the year, got a Blackburn cutter on the inner half and pulled it down the right-field line. Ball game.
Boone addressed both decisions after the loss. On keeping Blackburn in rather than turning to closer David Bednar or lefty specialist Tim Hill:
“If we’re going to win that game, it just felt like our best way to go was with Black[burn]. I thought he managed contact for the most part there, even in that final inning. They found a couple holes and beat us.”
On the decision not to put Raleigh on base intentionally:
“Then you’re just bringing up no margin for error and a walk in play.” Boone reasoned that loading the bases removed all room for Blackburn to work with.
Yankees fans and Mariners fans both noticed
The reaction online was immediate and pointed. Blackburn carries a career ERA of 4.97. With the game tied and Seattle’s AL MVP runner-up at the plate in a walk-off situation, many Yankees fans questioned why Boone stayed with a low-leverage option.
Social media responses showed the frustration. One fan-driven account wrote that the loss should be attributed entirely to leaving Blackburn in a high-leverage spot. Actor and noted Yankees fan Nick Turturro also weighed in, questioning the call in real time.
Notably, even some Mariners fans found the decision puzzling. One Mariners-focused account wrote that the same kind of call from their own manager would draw serious criticism in Seattle.
The ABS subplot that almost saved New York
The Yankees actually won every battle they entered Monday night except the final one. New York went 5-for-5 on ABS challenges, disputing five called strikes by home plate umpire Mike Estabrook and getting all five overturned.
Jose Caballero had two of his own challenges overturned in the third inning alone, including a 3-2 pitch that would have been called strike three. Instead, he walked. That brought up Aaron Judge, who also drew a walk, before Cody Bellinger grounded out to end the threat.
“Really good job by the guys,” Boone said of the challenge results. “When you have that kind of success rate, it’s not going to be like that every night. But I thought every one was obviously warranted, and a couple in some key spots to give us a chance to build an inning. We just weren’t able to build much offensively tonight.”
The tension between Boone and Estabrook spilled into a brief exchange of words after the fourth inning. When Stanton challenged a called third strike and the pitch was ruled low by ABS, Boone voiced his feelings from the dugout. Estabrook responded. No ejection, but the friction was visible.
“Those are razor-thin pitches sometimes,” Boone said. “You don’t want to always have to be challenging. But good on the guys for just hammering the strike zone right now.”
The Yankees finished the night with five hits and one run. They were outdueled by Castillo and a deep Mariners bullpen that held them scoreless after the seventh inning. Boone’s ninth-inning call gave back what the offense and bullpen had worked to protect all night.
What do you think about Boone’s gamble?
