Aaron Boone and CC Sabathia vent their frustration and tell the Rays to 'kick rocks' after a ball was thrown over Austin Romine's head. (0:39)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- New York Yankees starter CC Sabathia, in the middle of a one-hitter and two innings shy of earning a $500,000 incentive-based bonus, was ejected from Thursday afternoon's game at Tropicana Field.

Sabathia entered Thursday's game having pitched 148 innings this season. In what will be his final start of the year, he needed to last through the seventh in order to make it to 155 innings and receive the bonus.

But he was tossed by home-plate umpire Vic Carapazza in the bottom of the sixth inning after throwing a 92.5 mph cutter into Tampa Bay Rays catcher Jesus Sucre's left leg.

"I don't really make decisions based on money, I guess," Sabathia said after the Yankees' 12-1 win over the Rays. "Just felt like it was the right thing to do."

Carapazza had issued warnings minutes prior, following a pitch in the top of the inning from Rays reliever Andrew Kittredge that sailed behind Yankees catcher Austin Romine's head. After the warnings, the next batter to be thrown at or hit would lead to ejections.

"Any time you feel like your player's safety is in jeopardy, all guys take exception to that," Sabathia said.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who said he didn't see the original warning issued from Carapazza, understood why his pitcher felt he needed to retaliate for Kittredge's errant pitch.

"There's no question there was intent. You've had some guys hit this series, and then you throw one over the head? Just kick rocks. I hated it," said Boone, who once played with Sabathia while with the Cleveland Indians. "If you're going to play that game and you start messing around with people's heads, we're going to take exception to that."

Earlier in the game, Rays first baseman Jake Bauers was hit by a pitch. The day before, Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier suffered a hairline fracture when a slider from Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka hit his right foot.

It was just after Kittredge's ball went whizzing past Romine when Sabathia emerged from the Yankees' dugout and yelled in the direction of his opposing pitcher. As Sabathia jawed at the pitcher, Romine, who hit the dirt because of the pitch, dusted himself off and had what he called a "conversation between catchers" with Sucre.

Once that half-inning ended with the Yankees scoring four runs to extend their lead to 11-0, Sabathia's yelling resumed in the bottom of the sixth, and he was ejected after his very first pitch of the inning plunked Sucre.

This was Sabathia's fifth ejection of his career, and his second this season. He also was ejected from the dugout at Toronto on July 7.

As he was walking off the mound following the ejection, Sabathia turned toward the Rays dugout, pointed and shouted: "That was for you, b----." It was unclear toward whom specifically he was directing his anger. Then, feet from the Yankees' dugout, Sabathia made a motion toward his crotch as he glanced back at the Rays dugout.

"I don't even remember what I said," Sabathia later said. "I was just yelling."