New York Yankees manager and pitching coach Matt Blake combined to make fatal mistakes in a 3-1 Game 1 loss in the team’s Wild Card Series against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night.

As the Athletic’s Chris Kirschner noted, the Yankees’ bullpen, perhaps the most important piece for their World Series push, failed its first test in relief of Max Fried, who struck out six, walked three, and gave up no earned runs in 6.1 innings.

Luke Weaver gave up two runs on two hits and a walk while recording no outs. David Bednar gave up the other run in the top of the ninth, off two hits.

“The Yankees’ biggest weakness in the regular season was their bullpen. And, immediately, that weakness was on full display in the seventh inning,” Kirschner wrote.

“The bullpen was always going to be a pivot point for the Yankees this postseason. In its first test, it failed.”

Boone did the absolute worst thing a manager whose seat is heating up could do in the aftermath of the loss: double down and claim it was a good decision, exactly what Yankee fans don’t want to hear.

“They pressured him pretty good in the fourth, fifth, sixth, he had a couple base runners each inning. So, I felt like he kind of cruised through the first few, and obviously he ends up pitching great, but I felt like he had to work pretty hard. I was going to have the sixth be the end, but once we finished with the double play I wanted him to go out and get [Jarren] Duran. It felt like we were lined up,” Boone said to reporters postgame.

Boone faces a poetic ending to his coaching career in New York if his Yankees can’t pull it out. He earned the job through the sentimental value of his extra innings game-winning home run in the 2003 ALCS against Boston in the old Yankee Stadium. His first playoff series as manager in 2018 was against the Red Sox.

Now, his tenure in pinstripes could end against the Bronx Bombers’ all-time rivals.

If Boone and Blake don’t get his bullpen together, at least.