The Yankees are reeling after another crushing loss Monday night – this time blowing yet another late-inning lead to Shohei Ohtani and the Angels to fall for the seventh time in their last nine games.
They enter Tuesday 2.5 games back of the third wild-card spot and in fifth place in the American League East — the latest in the season they have been in last place since 1990 despite still being five games over .500.
While things look awfully bleak, Yankees manager Aaron Boone has a more optimistic perspective — viewing that the team is still in position to make the playoffs and a run once they get there.
LISTEN TO TALKIN’ YANKS ON AUDACY
Getty Images
“Absolutely confident,” Boone told the “Talkin’ Yanks” podcast. “…Those [losses] are tough ones to swallow in the moment, but you got to keep pressing forward. Not only are we going to get some people back, [Carlos] Rodon being back, [Luis Severino] going out and having a good outing last night, [Oswald] Peraza going out and looking like that in his first full game. And it’s still about unlocking a couple other guys to really get rolling.”
While the Yankees entered the day nine games behind the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays, the wild card seems to be more attainable and Boone believes that as long as they are in that race they remain in a good position.
“We are aspiring to be the best we can be and if that happens we put ourselves in a position to do what we got to do at the end,” he said. “Yes, from a division standpoint, it’s certainly possible but we’ve definitely put ourselves in a difficult position. What I’m saying is we very reasonably control our own destiny to get into the playoffs. That’s gonna be with more consistent play the final months of the season.”
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
