Farrell meets with Reed to explain his ninth-inning decision Sunday night

It was bad enough that John Farrell had an embarrassing moment Sunday night in Yankee Stadium, when he tried to make a pitching change and was denied the chance to do so, having failed to observe Rule 8.06 (3).

But beyond whatever humiliation Farrell felt after committing the blunder in a nationally televised game, he also had to deal with a veteran reliever who was understandably miffed that his manager attempted – however unsuccessfully – to remove him in the middle of an at-bat.

Toward that end, Farrell met with Addison Reed late Sunday night to clear the air.

In the ninth inning, with the game tied at 2-2, Reed issued a leadoff walk to Chase Headley and retired Ronald Torreyes on a sacrifice. That led to the potential winning run being in scoring position, with Jacoby Ellsbury, a pinch-hitter, due at the plate.

After one pitch from Reed to Ellsbury, Farrell came out and attempted to bring in closer Craig Kimbrel to finish the at-bat, only to be denied by home plate umpire Laz Diaz. Reed then got Ellsbury to ground out to second before being lifted – this time for real.

“That was obviously a unique situation last night,’’ said Farrell. “I didn’t want (Reed) leaving Yankee Stadium last night without at least sitting down with him, giving some thoughts that went into that. The time of the game, the leverage of the spot…and that was probably the first time he’d experienced that. I just wanted to make sure we had a chance to sit down and talk about it.’’

Asked about his motivation to make such an unorthodox move, Farrell responded without offering much in the way of specifics: “I was looking to get Craig into the game. Felt like I didn’t want to leave that series without having Craig Kimbrel on the mound. (Reed) gets Ellsbury out, you see what took place after that.’’

Kimbrel fanned Brett Gardner with the potential tying run at third, then turned back the Yanks 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 10th after the Sox had taken the lead for good in the top of the inning.

Reed has been uneven since being obtained at the trade deadline. He faced four hitters Friday night and didn’t retire one, allowing a two-run homer and two more baserunners. In his first appearance with the Sox on the last homestand, he allowed a solo homer.

“I think he’s still gaining comfort, coming over here after the trade,’’ offered Farrell. “The more we can settle him in and (the sooner he) can get acclimated to throw the ball like he’s capable of, that will take of itself.’’

One bizarre aspect of Reed’s brief time with the Sox has been his poor control. He’s walked two, hit a batter and thrown a wild pitch in 4.1 innings of work.

“The thing about it is, he’s been such a premium strike-thrower,’’ Farrell said.  “I think for any reliever, there’s going to be some tentative performance or inconsistencies that do appear. We just happened to run into a couple of them over the past couple of days. But still, we have confidence in him. There will be high leverage innings, I’m sure, he’ll pitch in.

“In the short period of time, I’ve come to know Addison as a direct guy. He’s honest with himself. He doesn’t complicate matters by overthinking situations. He knows that, even in those late inning spots, there’s little margin for error.’’

Farrell bristled somewhat when asked if Reed was upset with him when they met to talk.

“I don’t know that we need to give the contents of the meeting,’’ said Farrell. “But it was a professional, good conversation’’