The New York Yankees fell to last place in the AL East after being swept by the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night — and manager Aaron Boone didn't mince his words when asked to describe the slump.

“We stink right now,” Boone said after the Yankees lost 7-3 to the Angels, per MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. “We acknowledge that.”

It's been a truly abysmal stretch for New York, who fell to 1-5 since the All-Star hiatus and now sit just four games above .500. Still, Boone is keeping it positive as his team looks to rebound against the lowly Kansas City Royals for a weekend set beginning on Friday.

“We're gonna keep competing,” he explained. “That's gonna be a boring answer for you guys until we break through, but that's the only thing we can and the only thing we know how to do.”

The Yankees are now 2.5 games back of the American League wild-card, and the question must be asked whether it is time for general manager Brian Cashman to consider rethinking his plans ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline.

It is clear that the team is badly missing injured superstar Aaron Judge, who has returned to on-field activities but still doesn't have a timeline. Anthony Rizzo is without a home run and batting .190. Giancarlo Stanton is hitting .196 on the season. Two-time batting champion DJ Lemahieu is hitting just .231 in 2023.

“A lot of guys are going through a tough, tough stretch,” Boone said. “For some, probably as tough a stretch as they've been in in their career.”

The bottom line is, the New York Yankees need answers. And they need them quickly. The team is preaching belief that they can find a way out of the funk as they continue to lose ground in the wild-card race.

But actions speak louder than words, and the clock is ticking on Aaron Boone's team.