Fiery Aaron Boone implores New York Yankees 'to play better' after losing for 15th time in 19 games

NEW YORK — Yankees ace Gerrit Cole twice banged on the dugout roof, shouting in frustration and getting booed as scuffling New York lost for the 15th time in 19 games, beaten by the Toronto Blue Jays 5-2 Saturday.

The AL East-leading Yankees fell to 9-20 since entering the All-Star break with a 64-28 record. After holding a 15 1/2-game bulge on July 8, their margin over second-place Toronto is down to seven games.

New York manager Aaron Boone, who showed some frustration after Friday's loss in his postgame press conference, took it to another level on Saturday when assessing where his team is.

«We have to play better. Period,» he said, pounding the table that housed his microphone. «And the great thing is, it's right in front of us. It's right here, and we can fix it.»

The Yankees have lost six straight series for the first time since 1995, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Toronto will try for a four-game sweep on Sunday.

«We're not happy about it,» Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge said. «If you lose one game, or if you lose 10 games, you're not happy at all. But if we sit here and stay frustrated about one game, it's going to lead into the next game.

»So, it's about us picking ourselves up, and not forgetting we're the New York Yankees. And we have to go out there and show people that."

Cole (9-6) hadn't allowed a hit before the Blue Jays scored four times in the fifth. After he issued a walk and misplayed a grounder, Alejandro Kirk capped the burst with a two-run double that left fielder Andrew Benintendi couldn't quite catch.

«Look, we just have to play crisp,» Cole said. «We started out so well.»

When the inning ended, fans booed Cole and television cameras picked up the right-hander, yelling, and punching the