Yankees’ Aaron Judge, Aaron Boone react to Red Sox widening AL East gulf

After the Yankees’ 7-5 loss to the Mets on Friday, they fell to 5 1/2 games back of the Red Sox in the American League East.

NEW YORK — Last time the Yankees were this far behind, they had a lot more time left.

The clock is ticking faster than ever on their playoff future.

Dramatic? Maybe. But losing to the lowly Mets, 7-5, at Yankee Stadium on Friday, didn’t do the Yankees any favors.

Nor did the fact that with Boston’s win, manager Aaron Boone’s team moved to 5 1/2 games behind the Red Sox in the American League East.

The last thing the Yankees want is to end up in the AL Wild Card.

It was the Yankees’ widest deficit since April 22. Back then, the Yankees were a .500 team, and they were yet to go on a 18-2 run that would declare them as one of the league’s best teams.

Here’s how the Yankees are taking the current situation:

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Boone:

This is about us right now. This is about us getting on a good streak. That starts tomorrow. We’ve got (Mets starting pitcher Steven) Matz on the bump against us. We’ve got Sonny (Gray) going. We’ve got to go out and perform and get our ship right and start rolling off some wins to take care of our house.

Right fielder Aaron Judge:

We never like being in second place. You’re always concerned about that. We’ve still got quite a bit of season left to go. If we just keep playing our game — that’s what I’ve always said, I think, a thousand times to you guys. I’ve just got to keep playing our game and we’ll be where we want to be at the end of the year.

Left fielder Brett Gardner:

I’m not concerned about the number of games until we’re back more games than days we’ve got left. We’ve just got to play better baseball. That’s all their is to it.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.