Boone, Yankees Deny Rumor About Players-Only Meeting After 3rd Straight Shutout Loss

The New York Yankees are scuffling offensively, but that doesn't mean they had a players-only meeting to address the issues.

Manager Aaron Boone told reporters Wednesday there was no such meeting. What's more, multiple players also said there was no meeting.

That revelation was notable because there was some reporting that the Yankees held a players-only meeting to address the offensive concerns.

Perhaps the Yankees should have such a meeting, because they haven't scored a run in any of their last three games. They have also lost five straight and are now just 2.5 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays and three games ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East.

The first of their three straight scoreless outings came in the third and final game of a series against the Boston Red Sox. Boston swept the Yankees and climbed back into the division race, as it is just 5.5 games behind New York despite sitting in fourth place.

New York then lost two straight to a Los Angeles Angels team that is below .500 at 35-37.

The first was a 1-0 defeat in 11 innings where the Yankees couldn't even push across a run despite starting each extra frame with a runner on second base. The second was a 4-0 loss that saw Angels starter Kyle Hendricks strike out nine in six scoreless innings.

Hendricks entered the game with a 5.20 ERA and hadn't tallied more than six strikeouts in a single previous start this season.

The Yankees' loaded lineup with established players such as Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Paul Goldschmidt will probably bounce back without a players-only meeting. But they need to turn things around in a hurry to maintain their lead in the AL East.