It was far-fetched to ever believe the Yankees actually would run away with the division before the All-Star break arrived.
But their recent 4-9 skid has made things a bit tighter atop the AL East as they hit the halfway point of the season.
While the Yankees were off Thursday after playing 16 straight days, their lead was trimmed to just half a game as the Rays won yet again, for the 25th time in their past 34 games.
The half-game lead is the Yankees’ smallest since April 22.
In between, the lead had stretched to as many as seven games on May 27-28.
“These things are coming for you,” manager Aaron Boone said of his team’s recent dive. “I can tell you, I think we’re a really good friggin’ team, and I believe that’s going to show over the long haul. Kind of has shown already so far in the first half.
“We understand we got a long way to go. We got to go do it. But it’s been a rough couple weeks for us — or whatever, 10-12 days, for us. It’s part of it.”
After facing the Athletics this weekend, the Yankees will be back on the road next week for four games against the Blue Jays, who are three games back after winning 16 of their past 25.
“We never prepare for anything but [the division] is going to be tough,” Boone said. “That’s what we expect moving forward. Hopefully when the dust settles, we’re sitting on top. That’s our expectation.”
