Yankees' Hicks pulled after gaffes, heckled by fans with 'Gallo' chant

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks had a tough night at the office on Friday.

In the fourth inning of the Yankees' game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Hicks allowed a Rays run to score when he dropped Wander Franco's fly ball, which would have been the third out of the inning. The left fielder then didn't realize the ball dropped fair and took his time picking it up, allowing another run to score and extending Tampa Bay's lead to 3-0.

Later that inning, Hicks misplayed a second fly ball, allowing a fourth Rays run to score on what ended up as a Randy Arozarena RBI double.

Yankees fans responded to the gaffe by serenading Hicks with chants of "Joey Gallo," referencing his former teammate. Gallo was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline after struggling in New York.

Hicks was then removed from the game to start the fifth inning, with Estevan Florial taking over in left field.

"I just felt like I needed to get him out of there at that point," manager Aaron Boone said following the Yankees' 4-2 loss, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.

The gaffes were the latest difficulty in what's been a season to forget for Hicks. The 32-year-old's mired in one of the worst seasons of his career, hitting .211/.326/.296 with six homers and 36 RBIs. Hicks has another three years and $30.5 million left on his contract after this season.

The Yankees, who once held a 15 1/2-game lead in the AL East, saw their lead over Tampa Bay dwindle to just 3 1/2 games after Friday's loss.