Yankees' Aaron Boone Explains Calling out Bat Violation by Astros' Taylor Trammell

There's rarely a boring moment when the New York Yankees and Houston Astros play, as was the case again on Thursday night when Aaron Boone had the umpires check Taylor Trammell's bat for a potential rules violation.

The situation occurred in the bottom of the ninth after Trammell hit a double, prompting Boone to ask the umpires to check his bat because there was some sort of mark on the label near the barrel.

Boone told reporters after the game he "noticed" the mark on the bat throughout the series and that the league had said it "maybe was illegal" when the Yankees asked about it, so he wanted to "at least ask" the umpires about it.

"The discoloration was on the label, like. I don't know if it was just natural or if it was sand ... I don't know. I don't want to accuse Taylor. I'm not saying anything untoward or whatever," Boone said.

The umpires did confiscate the bat after inspecting it. Trammell expressed his unhappiness with the situation afterward, telling reporters he's been using the bat for as long as he's been with the Astros and the mark was the result of the matte finish wearing down over time.

MLB rules allow for certain substances (like pine tar) to be used on the bat handle, but any "such material or substance that extends past the 18-inch limitation shall cause the bat to be removed from the game."

This was a chippy series between the two AL rivals. The Yankees won two out of three games, but their loss on Wednesday saw the Astros score four runs in the eighth inning and all eight of their runs over the final four innings.

Boone and Devin Williams were ejected in the eighth inning of Wednesday's game. Trammell, who appeared in five games with the Yankees last season and 106 games for their Triple-A affiliate, had the game-tying RBI when he drew a bases-loaded walk.

Thursday was a nice bounce-back game by the Yankees, though it was not without drama after the Trammell situation. The Astros had the bases loaded with one out and a chance to tie the game with a grand slam, but David Bednar struck out Carlos Correa and Christian Walker to end it.

New York (78-62) has moved one game ahead of the Boston Red Sox in the loss column for the No. 1 wild card spot in the AL.

The Yankees will continue their 12-game streak against teams currently in the AL playoffs on Friday. They have a huge three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium this weekend. Toronto leads the AL East by three games over the Bronx Bombers.

After this weekend, the Yankees' next two series are against the Detroit Tigers (Sept. 9-11) and Red Sox (Sept. 12-14).