Yankees Lose AL East Lead

The New York Yankees' third loss to the Toronto Blue Jays has resulted in a tie at the top of the American League East between the two teams, costing the Yanks a lead they had held since April 14.

This is the Yankees' 13th loss in the last 19 games, and the third in a row. The team lost 13 of their 15 games in June, amounting to a stretch that has fans clamoring for stronger batting lineups and changes among the infield. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone are fielding most of the blame, with Boone being held responsible for some apparently ineffective lineup choices.

The Blue Jays secured an early lead in the game with seven runs in the first inning alone off Yankees starter Will Warren. The Blue Jays entered the fifth inning with a strong 8-0 lead before the Yankees rallied, with DJ LeMahieu, Ben Rice, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton all hitting home runs in the fifth. It was Stanton's first homer since returning from the injured list, and Judge's 31st this season.

At best, the Yankees were able to tie the game up 9-9 heading into the bottom of the eighth, but it wasn't enough. Despite the apparent slide, captain and superstar Judge appears unshaken, as transcribed by Greg Joyce of the New York Post.

"We’re going to go through two of these a year, every good team does," Judge said. "We’re not playing good baseball. Couple things we got to clean up and we’ll be right back where we need to go."

It's been a dismal run, but in this game, at least the Yankees offense showed up. They'll hope to bring that noise to Thursday's game, where they'll hope to make it back to the top of the leaderboard.

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