Aaron Boone admits Yankees’ defense was sloppy but says tonight was different. That’s complicated.

The New York Yankees are in a tailspin and nobody in the clubhouse is trying to pretend otherwise. After getting swept in four games by the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, the team flew home hoping to reset against the Detroit Tigers. Instead, they lost 7-3 on Monday night and extended their losing streak to five games. That ties their season high and it happened in front of a home crowd that’s starting to get restless.

The culprit this time? Defensive mistakes that felt eerily familiar. Two errors — one from Jose Caballero in the second inning and another from Cody Bellinger — combined with a passed ball from Austin Wells in the first inning. It was the kind of sloppy baseball that gets you beat against anybody, let alone a Tigers team that came into the series on a six-game losing streak of its own.

Boone breaks down the defensive miscues

Manager Aaron Boone addressed the errors after the game and drew a line between the loss in Boston and the one against the Tigers. His argument: Thursday’s loss in Fenway was genuinely sloppy defense from guys who should know better, but Monday night’s mistakes came from players who are usually rock-solid.

“I mean that was sloppy tonight,” Boone said. “Belli’s as good as it gets. It happens. An on-the-run throw that I don’t think was a terrible throw. Goldie can’t quite hang on to it. A couple really good defenders that didn’t complete plays today. But sloppiness on Thursday night in Fenway, that’s sloppy.”

Boone is essentially saying this one is excusable because it’s an outlier from reliable defenders. That’s a reasonable take, but it also ignores a bigger problem: the Yankees are losing games they need to win, and the margin for error is gone.

Ryan Weathers couldn’t stop the bleeding

The defense didn’t help, but starter Ryan Weathers was also a mess. He lasted just 1.2 innings and allowed five earned runs before getting yanked. By the time the bullpen took over, the game was effectively over. The Yankees offense has been inconsistent all year and with a five-run deficit early, the lineup never really threatened.

New York has now surrendered control of the AL East, with the Tampa Bay Rays taking the division lead. The Yankees will try to avoid a sixth straight loss Tuesday against the Tigers. They’re running out of time to prove this stretch is just a bad week and not something worse.