Yanks' slide continues: 'We're up against it'

Think back to the night of Aug. 27, when the Yankees were in Oakland and expanding their win streak to 13 games. At that point, the Blue Jays were 9 1/2 games back of the Yankees -- an afterthought. And the playoffs were almost close enough to taste.

My, how things have changed in two weeks.

The Yankees dropped a season-high sixth game in a row on Thursday, 6-4, and their lead over the Blue Jays for the second Wild Card spot is down to a half-game. New York’s six-game home losing streak ties the longest in the history of the current ballpark (since 2009), and a four-game sweep at Yankee Stadium against the Blue Jays had only happened once before (May 22-25, 2003).

But here’s the kicker: The Yankees never led in this series, marking the first time they haven’t led in a series of four-plus games since June 23-25, 1924, against the Washington Senators (New York has played in 1,250 series of four-plus games since then).

“We just had a horrible homestand,” manager Aaron Boone said. “It’s not OK. We’re [angry] about it. But we’ve been through this throughout the season. We’re up against it again. And we look forward to going out and turn this around tomorrow.”

The last time the Yankees were “up against it” was on July 4, when they fell to .500 and sat 10 games back of Boston in the AL East.

They’re 10 back again, now behind the Rays, albeit with a record that’s 16 games above .500, and what matters most is the Wild Card spot that’s dangerously close to slipping away.

On Thursday, starter Néstor Cortes Jr. gave the Yankees exactly what they needed to stop the skid: six innings of two-run ball, providing a spell for a bullpen that had worked 11 of the previous 18 frames.

But the theme of New York’s recent woes, offensive ineptitude, showed up once again.

Anthony Rizzo provided half the offense with a two-run blast in the sixth, but he failed to capitalize two innings later in a two-on, none-out situation with New York trailing by two. Rizzo hit into a fielder’s choice, and Giancarlo Stanton followed with an inning-ending double play.

The Yankees did hit a pair of solo homers in the ninth, but that did little to change the narrative around this offense right now. Since the 13-game win streak ended, the Yankees are batting .212 and averaging 3.3 runs per game.

Most notably, they’re lacking their trademark Bronx Bomber pop: Toronto won the home run battle in a landslide this series, 11-4.

“We have to turn the page very quickly,” catcher Gary Sánchez said via interpreter Marlon Abreu. “We have to focus on our game, and make sure that whenever you have an opportunity to score you take advantage of those opportunities. … We have to focus on the game in front of us.”​​

The lack of offense recently -- the Yankees have scored five-plus runs just twice in their past dozen games -- is glaring. But Cortes doesn’t believe the slumping bats have added any pressure to the pitching staff.

“No, I think everybody has had their fair share of ups and downs,” he said. “Sometimes a starting pitcher goes six-deep, and there’s been times where we’ve scored six, seven runs in a game and the pitchers have happened to give it up. So I would just say, obviously everybody’s frustrated, but we’ve got to keep fighting and keep grinding.”

So, where do the Yankees go from here? Just 10 miles down the road to Citi Field, where an equally anxious Mets team awaits for the Subway Series that starts Friday at 7:10 p.m. ET (free on MLB.TV or MLB Network).

Entering the weekend, it’s important to remember two things: One, the Yankees still hold a playoff spot at the moment; two, losing 10 of 12 after winning 13 in a row proves that the pendulum can still swing swiftly in either direction.

“We know it can turn just as quick as it’s gone sideways here over the last 10 days or so,” Boone said. “We expect to get it rolling. Obviously, it needs to happen. But we’re in control of that.”