Ceddanne Rafaela didn’t hide behind the cover provided by his manager after being thrown out at the plate at a critical moment in the Red Sox’s loss to the Yankees. 

Interim Boston manager Chad Tracy told reporters after his team fell 1-0 in The Bronx on Friday that he and third base coach Chad Epperson were “screaming” at Rafaela to tag up on Willson Contreras’ fly ball to left field in the seventh inning. 

“That’s a definite, especially at that point of the game,” Tracy said of sending Rafaela. “It’s been a bit since we’ve scored. It’s like, ‘How many opportunities are you going to get?’ So, you’ve got to go there.” 

It had been 15 innings since the Red Sox had scored a run dating back to Wednesday’s shutout loss to the Marlins.

“And (when) you have a really good base runner in Rafa and speed at third, you’re going to take your shot,” Tracy added. “With him running, it’s gotta be a perfect throw and he made a perfect throw right on the money.” 

Rafaela contradicted him shortly after and took the blame for the miscalculation after getting thrown out by a perfect 99.7-mph throw from Cody Bellinger to end the frame.

He said Epperson was “telling me to not go” and later told his coach he didn’t “have to take any blame on it.”

“That’s on me,” Rafaela said. “Not on him. That’s on me.”

Rafaela said he told Epperson it was “one hundred percent on me”

The Boston star even admitted he wasn’t surprised he was thrown out after being overly aggressive on the play. He knew Bellinger has a “good arm” and throws with accuracy, but challenged him anyway.  

“That was just being aggressive, trying to tie the game right there and he made a perfect throw,” Rafaela said. “I think that’s the only throw that can get me out right there.” 

It was his second blunder of the game, as his base running mistake in the fifth wasted another Boston scoring chance.

Rafaela lingered off first base too long after Wilyer Abreu lined out to center field for the second out of the inning. Anthony Seigler beat Trent Grisham’s throw back to second, but Jazz Chisholm Jr. was able to fire to first in time to double off Rafaela to end the scoring threat. 

“It’s a bad read on me. It was really bad,” Rafaela said before admitting “that can’t happen.”  

He was ready to move on from it all with the two teams – who find themselves in a tight AL Wild Card race – playing a doubleheader Saturday. 

“I make some dumb decisions trying to be over-aggressive and those things happen,” he said. “Now, just flush it and show up tomorrow.”