What Aaron Boone said in pep talk to reeling Yankees
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees. Try it free
TORONTO — As the Yankees packed their bags in the cramped visiting clubhouse at Rogers Centre on Thursday night, on the heels of a brutal four-game sweep by the Blue Jays, Aaron Boone stopped in briefly to speak to his team.
The Yankees have lost 14 of their last 20 games and are tied with the Rays for second place in the division, but Boone's message was one projecting confidence amid choppy waters.
Advertisement
'That we're the best team in the league,' Jazz Chisholm Jr. said. 'We knew we were going to hit a speed bump. But just block out the noise and go out there when we get back home in New York and do what we do. This happened here, but we're going to leave this here.'
The Yankees arrived north of the border having won three of their last four games, hoping they were beginning to snap out of their June swoon, then got hit with four straight losses as the Blue Jays leapt them in the standings.
Aaron Boone looks on during the Yankees' 8-5 loss to the Blue Jays on July 3, 2025.
Getty Images
Advertisement
George Springer delivered the knockout punch in Thursday's finale with his second two-homer game of the series while the Yankees went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position, making it 9-for-50 across the four games.
Add in news of a high-grade oblique strain to Fernando Cruz and Clarke Schmidt headed for an MRI tube Friday because of forearm tightness, and the four-game set was something of a test to determine where rock bottom actually is.
CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS
'It sucks when you get your ass kicked in a division-rival series, on the road,' Boone said. 'But we're ready-made for this and we will get through this. We obviously know we need to play better. We need to do better. … We will stick together through this and embrace the adversity of it. This will make us stronger as we navigate through the season. I know nobody likes hearing that. But that's what this is.'
Advertisement
Asked why this group is made to deal with the adversity, Boone cited the leaders in the clubhouse, such as Aaron Judge, who will make sure the Yankees stick together.
'There's been years where we haven't been equipped to go through this,' Boone said. 'That group is, and we will.
'I know this group. I know the trust they have in one another. I believe in our process. We even just talked about it in there. It's all part of it. Bring it on. You got to embrace the challenging times of it, especially playing in New York. That's coming for you. But we lean into that all the time. I know these guys are prepared for it. I know these guys will handle it.'
Advertisement
Boone said he was looking for his players to be 'unfazed' by the challenging stretch and not flinch.
'You can't panic,' Judge said. 'That's not going to help the situation. We got work to do. It's a baseball season. … We got to focus on a big series coming up against the Mets. That's all we can do is keep focusing on the present and the game we got in front of us.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
19 minutes ago
- New York Post
Subway Series live updates: Yankees vs. Mets news, scores and highlights
Subway Series. Fourth of July. Day baseball. What more could you want? Well, if you're a Yankees or Mets fan, the answer is more wins as both teams enter the second edition of this year's Subway Series having gone through rough stretches. Who needs these games more? Will one of the teams bounce back in Flushing? Follow The Post's live updates for the latest Subway Series scores, news and more from Citi Field.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Blue Jays announcer goes after Michael Kay for ‘first-place' jab after Yankees get swept
Access the Yankees beat like never before Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees. Try it free Sportsnet host Jamie Campbell wasn't going to let Michael Kay get away with his Blue Jays jab. After the Blue Jays completed their four-game sweep of the Yankees on Thursday, Campbell threw some shade during the postgame show toward Kay — while not referencing the play-by-play announcer by name, but referring to him as a 'certain Yankee broadcaster' — after a prior comment about how Toronto doesn't reflect a first-place team. Advertisement 'I can think of a certain Yankee broadcaster, in fact, who is gonna have to go on his show [Friday] and admit that the Blue Jays are a first-place team,' Campbell said during the segment as he held a broom, 'because the standings prove it.' 3 Sportsnet host Jamie Campbell used a broom following the Blue Jays' win against the Yankees on July 3. Screengrab via X/@awfulannouncing At one point this season, the Yankees possessed a commanding lead in the AL East standings, but that quickly unraveled and then ultimately changed this series — when Toronto tied for the lead with a win in the third game and then moved into sole possession of first place with an 8-5 victory Thursday night. Advertisement 3 Michael Kay calls Yankees games for Yes Network. AP Kay, during a segment on his radio show Wednesday, cited a stark gap in run differential at the time as a reason why the Blue Jays, despite orchestrating a 21-10 tear after a 28-28 start, don't deserve to lead the division. 'The Blue Jays are not a first-place team, I'm sorry,' Kay said. 'If you look at the run differential, the Yankees' run differential is +105. The Blue Jays, after a 12-5 win, finally got in the positive yesterday; they're +4. Do you realize they should be a .500 team because of a +4 run differential? Advertisement 'And the Yankees should have at least four or five more wins with a +105 run differential. They're not playing great baseball. I'm sorry, they're not.' 3 George Springer gets drenched with water after the Blue Jays defeated the Yankees on July 3. AP The Yankees have lost 14 of their last 20 games entering this weekend's Subway Series against the Mets behind a slumping offense — struggles that even include Aaron Judge, to a degree — and inconsistent pitching that had a particularly rough series in Toronto. They took another pitching hit Friday when Clarke Schmidt was placed on the injured list after exiting his Thursday start with forearm tightness.
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Fox News
Yankees Starter Clarke Schmidt Placed on IL, Headed For Forearm Scan
Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt was placed on the 15-day injured list because of right forearm soreness on Friday, one day after his start at Toronto was cut short following three innings. A 29-year-old right-hander, Schmidt was set to have an MRI on Friday. New York also recalled right-hander Scott Effross and left-hander Jayvien Sandridge from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Right-hander Clayton Beeter had been optioned to the RailRiders after replacing Schmidt on Thursday night and taking the loss in the 8-5 defeat as the Yankees were swept in a four-game series and dropped out of the AL East lead. Schmidt allowed three runs, four hits that included George Springer's two-run homer and two walks. He said he's been dealing with soreness in his arm since his June 4 outing against Cleveland. "Earlier on in the game it felt OK," Schmidt said. "As the game progressed it sort of tightened up a little bit on me. I felt like the whole night I was kind of guarding it a little bit on the breaking balls, really not ripping them or trying to get a lot behind them." [Related: George Springer Powers Blue Jays to Sweep of Yankees] Schmidt, who had Tommy John surgery in May 2017, is 4-4 with a 3.32 ERA in 14 starts. He left a June 21 start against Baltimore after throwing a career-high 103 pitches in seven hitless innings, part of a streak of 28.1 scoreless innings. "Any time you're getting an MRI on your forearm, or whatever the body part is, you're not feeling happy about it," Schmidt said. "I'm praying everything is going to be clean and minor. We'll see what happens." Schmidt joins a number of Yankees' starters already on the IL. Leo Gil, who made 29 starts with a 115 ERA+ for the Yankees last summer, is yet to debut in 2025 after suffering a lat strain – he is expected to begin a rehab assignment in the minors next week, however. Ryan Yarbrough, who has split the season between the rotation and bullpen, is is out with an oblique strain as of June 20. And ace Gerrit Cole is recovering from Tommy John surgery, performed in March, and will not return until 2026. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!
