New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected in the bottom of the third inning of Sunday’s 7–1 loss to the Houston Astros after a heated dispute over home-plate umpire Derek Thomas’s strike zone. The dismissal is Boone’s fifth of the season, the most in Major League Baseball, and the 44th of his managerial tenure. Boone’s removal failed to stem the Yankees’ slide. The club mustered just five hits while starter Max Fried surrendered four earned runs over five innings. The defeat was New York’s seventh in nine games and dropped the team to a 44-43 record since May 1, leaving it clinging to the American League’s final wild-card position. Persistent bullpen problems, injuries to key players and underperforming trade-deadline additions have intensified scrutiny of Boone and the roster. Fans at Yankee Stadium booed as the team’s post-All-Star-Break record slipped to 9-13, underscoring the urgency for a turnaround as the regular season enters its final seven weeks.