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Girardi on Yanks' 7-game slide: 'Every team goes through their down periods'

Brad Penner / USA TODAY Sports

Something's suddenly amiss in the Bronx.

For the first time in 30 days, the New York Yankees are not in first place. Tuesday's 8-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, combined with Boston's victory over Kansas City, dropped the Baby Bombers a half-game behind the rival Red Sox in the AL East.

New York has now lost seven straight contests, including three straight to the Angels and six consecutive on last week's West Coast swing. In this recent stretch of futility, literally nothing has gone right for the previously red-hot club.

While the slide probably is concerning to manager Joe Girardi, it's not making him sweat just yet - not after his young team shocked everyone with a 38-23 start in one of baseball's toughest divisions.

"I don't think the first 60 games were an accident," Girardi told reporters following the team's last loss, according to Brendan Kuty of NJ.com. "We played pretty well during those games. Every team goes through their down periods, that's the bottom line."

The Yankees' current "down period" has been awfully rough on them. Much of it can be pinned on the bullpen, a unit that's responsible for five of the losses during this streak - most recently Tuesday, when Tyler Clippard entered a tie game and immediately surrendered three runs in just one-third of an inning. In the last seven games, Yankees relievers own a 5.14 FIP - third-worst in baseball over that span - and have allowed 16 earned runs.

There are reasons to be optimistic, of course. Aroldis Chapman has returned to active duty in the bullpen, while the bats - Chris Carter aside - are still going; even Aaron Judge's week-long "slump" isn't that much of a slide, with an .882 OPS and three extra-base hits.

The ingredients seem to be there for a turnaround, but these previously unflappable Yankees have to find it in themselves quickly. Otherwise, a once-promising season for a group that was considered a few years away from prime time could come crashing down quickly.

"I think you find out a lot about the makeup of your club when you go through tough times," Girardi said. "I think a lot of times you find out a lot more about your club now than you do when you're going through great times and how they respond every day."

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