Yankees inspired by Boone's 'savage' tirade at ump

Warning: Story contains coarse language

The New York Yankees credited fiery manager Aaron Boone for sparking the club to a sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays in their doubleheader Thursday.

Boone was ejected in the second inning of Game 1 for heckling home plate umpire Brennan Miller over his strike zone. Microphones picked up Boone's expletive-ridden tirade, which included him referring to his hitters as "fucking savages in that fucking box."

"We love it as a team," said slugger Aaron Judge. "That shows that he's in the trenches with us, he's out there fighting with us. He's living and dying on every single pitch, and he has our back. We thought it was a couple questionable calls and he trusted us and went with us and had our back. He saved, I think maybe, (Brett Gardner) and a couple people from getting thrown out so that's a good thing."

Gardner was seen applauding as Boone made his way back to the dugout and down to the clubhouse, where he spent the rest of the contest. The Yankees went on to win the game 6-2.

"I loved it," starting pitcher Domingo German said through an interpreter, according to ESPN. "Personally, I fed off that energy. It gave me a boost to concentrate and go out there, do my job and try to get this victory for him, because he went out there and fought for us. I felt that it was my responsibility to go back out there and return the favor."

German wound up going six innings to pick up his 12th win of the season.

First baseman Luke Voit, who knocked an RBI single in the fifth inning, was equally appreciative of Boone's display.

"He's been calling us savages all year," he told Linsdey Adler of The Athletic. "I think not a lot of coaches would back it up and use that word, and I think we appreciate it and we are a bunch of savages and we've gotta keep it going."

The Yankees increased their lead to eight games over the Rays in the AL East with the pair of victories.