Yankees react to losing AL East to Red Sox: ‘Stings a little’

Yankees manager Aaron Boone, slugger Giancarlo Stanton and pitcher Masahiro Tanaka react to the Red Sox winning the American League East.

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NEW YORK — The Yankees‘ clubhouse was as quiet as it’s been all year.

By the time reporters were let in, most players were mostly finished changing into street clothes. Some milled around, chatting. Voices were low. There was no music. 

The mood couldn’t have been any less like what was happening in the visitors clubhouse, where the Red Sox were dousing each other in beer and champagne, celebrating a 11-6 win that clinched them the American League East title.

Winning it was one thing for Boston, which was going to capture the crown at some point — it was inevitable.

But doing it in the Bronx must have tasted just a little bit sweeter.

For the Yankees, it was a somber moment, a transition period as they turn their attention to preserving a 1 1/2-game lead over the A’s for the right to host the AL Wild Card Game.

Luke Voit providing jolt

Here’s what Yankees manager Aaron Boone, slugger Giancarlo Stanton and starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka each had to say about it:

Giancarlo Stanton

“They’ve had a solid year. You can’t deny that. You never want it to be here, that they (win the division title), but we gave it what we’ve got. They can celebrate now and we’ve got time to celebrate later.”

Aaron Boone

“This stings a little bit, but we also feel like we’ve gotten our guys back, we feel like we’re in position to hopefully take off and start playing well and we’ll have that expectation and that intention going into tomorrow.”

Masahiro Tanaka

“Obviously, it’s disappointing. We had two good wins and wanted to come here and really give the team a chance to win and, obviously, I wasn’t able to do that. But now it’s done and now I think we need to look forward and just kind of change our mindset and move forward.”

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