Aaron Boone blames ‘unique situation’ for Aroldis Chapman’s screaming eruption

Aaron Boone said he regrets his decision to have Aroldis Chapman walk Carlos Santana intentionally in the ninth inning on Wednesday, a move that backfired, when Chapman walked the next batter, Sebastian Rivero, to blow a lead against the Royals.

The Yankees wound up winning the game in the bottom of the inning, but Chapman was visibly upset both on the mound and afterwards in the dugout with being instructed to issue a free pass to Santana to load the bases after he and Boone decided to attack the hitter during a mound visit before the at-bat. “He was upset and understandably so,” Boone said Thursday before the Yankees played Kansas City again in The Bronx. “He wanted to pitch to Santana. Even in hindsight — not just because it didn’t work out — I think the right move was probably to let him pitch to [Santana].”