The Yankees woke up Tuesday six games back of first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.
It was their largest deficit of the season.
They are still awaiting the return of three of their most important lineup fixtures in Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton.
For a team that acknowledged in spring training and early in the regular season the importance of winning the division after falling just short a year ago, the Yankees have got their work cut out with just about a quarter of the season left.
“Nothing changes,” Aaron Boone said Tuesday of the team’s objectives before before they beat Mariners 4-1 at the Stadium.
That’s true even with Judge sidelined since the end of May and no timeline disclosed for his return from his fractured rib.
Bellinger looks to be progressing in his comeback from a strained hamstring, and Stanton ran the bases Tuesday.
Without that trio, the Yankees lineup has gone into the tank. But after initially withstanding the loss of Judge — when the Yankees built a 3 ½-game lead June 17 — they’ve slipped further behind the surging Rays.
They’ve so far been able to fight off Boston for second place in the division.
Despite the gap that exists between the Yankees and Rays, Gerrit Cole echoed Boone’s belief that a second division title in three years remains not just within reach but expected.
“To be honest with you, I didn’t know how many games it was, but we’re not gonna change our mindset,” Cole said. “Our mindset is to win the division.”
And that will continue to be the case until they’re eliminated.
“The six games [deficit] is relevant statistically, in a sense, but we haven’t moved the goalposts,” Cole said. “You don’t do that till it’s over.”
The blows to the roster don’t alter anything, according to Cole.
“Regardless of who we have, that’s the standard we should be accountable to,” Cole said. “That’s always our focus.”
For the Yankees to flip the standings, they’ll have to get more out of the lineup before their stars return.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. has acknowledged his part in the struggling offense and said catching Tampa Bay was within reach.
“It’s still a realistic goal to win the division,” Chisholm said. “If they go on a losing streak and we do well, it would be there for us. It’s baseball. Anything can happen.”
The Yankees don’t have to go too far back for inspiration.
On Aug. 23 last season, they were in third place, 6 ½ games behind first-place Toronto and also trailing the Red Sox.
And even with just 12 games to play, they were still five games back of the front-running Blue Jays before going 11-1 to close to within one game.
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They fell short and Toronto knocked them off in the ALDS.
“We just have to go day by day,’’ Chisholm said.
