Mike Ehrmann | Getty Images

Randy Miller | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Yankees have been downplaying catcher Gary Sanchez's laziness since he joined them for good around this time two summers ago.

We've all seen his lollygagging behind the plate and his lack of hustle running out ground balls for three years and it cost the Yankees big-time in Monday night's 7-6 loss to Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.

On Tuesday, rumors that Sanchez had aggravated a groin injury surfaced as an alibi, and ESPN's Buster Olney reported that Sanchez would be placed on the disabled list -- which is curious because neither Sanchez nor anyone in the Yankees organization mentioned a possible injury after the loss Monday.

In the first inning, Rays first baseman Jake Bauers scored a two-out run from second base because Sanchez didn’t initially hustle to chase down a passed ball that bounced off his glove and rolled about 15 feet up the third-base line in foul territory.

Sanchez looked bad taking his time going for the ball until he finally sped up when noticing Bauers had rounded third and broke for the plate. To top off this ugliness, Sanchez’s weak throw home hit Bauers in the back.

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Sanchez looked worse jogging all night to first base in his five of his at-bats, and his final display of dogging it prevented the Yankees from scoring the tying run with two outs in the ninth inning.

With the bases loaded and the Rays clinging to a one-run lead, Sanchez hit a hard grounder to short and was thrown out by two steps at first base after Aaron Hicks beat a throw to second because he actually was running hard.

Sanchez’s jogging was so slow on this night that it made you wonder if this was just another night of no hustle or if he had re-aggravated his right groin, which had him on the disabled list from June 25 until last Friday due to a strain.

Sanchez was the big story in the Yankees clubhouse after the game.

Here's what Sanchez, manager Aaron Boone, left fielder Brett Gardner and pitcher Luis Severino had to say about this laziness costing the Yankees a game that left them six games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East standings:

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Al Bello | Getty Images

Is Sanchez hurt?

Sanchez hasn’t been running hard since he returned from a groin injury last Friday, the Yankees’ first game after the All-Star break, and his lack of hustle running out three groundballs, a popup and a single on Monday night was hard to miss.

Is his groin still hurting?

Boone was asked first if Sanchez is hurt.

“No,” the manager responded. “He should be able to get after it. He’s here and back and should be fine getting after things.”

Later, Sanchez was asked if his groin is still hurting or if he’s tentative about running hard out of fear of straining it again.

“I’m fine,” he said. “The injury and thinking about it definitely is behind me.”

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Mike Ehrmann | Getty Images

How Boone reacted

Yankees rookie manager Aaron Boone has gone out of his way all season to protect Sanchez, who was criticized by former manager Joe Girardi in a post-game news conference last season for poor defense.

Boone had a hard time defending Sanchez after Monday’s game.

After about Sanchez not running hard to first base in the ninth inning, Boone responded, "I'd have to watch (the replay), but he's got to find his gate quickly and he should be able to do that now."

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On the Rays scoring a run from second base due to Sanchez not hustling to chase down his passed ball, Boone wasn’t aware of it until it came up in his post-game presser.

“It’s another thing I’ve got to look at (on replay) because when the ball skipped away, I was watching Bauers run from second knowing he might be a little aggressive coming around,” Boone said. “So I was kind of yelling for (pitcher Luis Severino) to cover home and I was watching the runner. So that’s another play I’ve got to watch back.”

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Mike Ehrmann | Getty Images

How Sanchez reacted

Gary Sanchez often seems to get agitated when he’s pressed about his defensive issues in interviews.

On Monday, he admitted he didn't run hard to chase down his first-inning passed ball or bust it to first base on his game-ending grounder.

Here’s what Sanchez had to say about his ninth-inning mistake:

“I think I could have done a better job for sure there running. I hit the ball well. When the play developed and I saw the runner safe at second base, I tried to beat the play but I couldn’t. ... I should have run harder. There was a chance (Aaron Hicks) was going to be out at second base, but that didn’t happen. He was safe."

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And here’s how Sanchez responded to not hustling after his passed ball that gifted the Rays the game’s first run:

“That’s another instance there where if I would have done a better job being quicker getting that ball, maybe we have a chance to get (Jake Bauers) out at home and that’s my fault. It was a cross-up on the signs there (with Luis Severino), and like I said, I should have gotten that ball quicker there.”

After blaming himself for his lack of hustle, Sanchez was asked what he has to say to the people who now think that he doesn't care enough to play hard all the time.

“You learn a lot in this game and this is one of those instances where you learn from it,” Sanchez said. “You put it behind and you look forward to tomorrow."

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Nathan Denette | The Canadian Press via AP

How Gardner reacted

Veteran left fielder Brett Gardner is one of the Yankees’ biggest leaders along with pitcher CC Sabathia.

Here’s what Gardner had to say about Sanchez not running hard to first base in the ninth inning;

“I was in the dugout watching it live. I didn’t see a replay. I thought Aaron Hicks did a great job of getting to second base and beating the play and you’ve got to give credit to Tampa Bay’s middle infielders. They didn’t stop the play. They kept going and finished it at first and it was kind of deflating for us.

“Gary hit that ball hard, then you see their shortstop catch it and you see Hicks beat the throw to second and you think we tied it, and it turns out we didn’t.”

The Yankees didn’t tie the game because Sanchez didn’t run hard until seeing Hicks was safe at second.

Will Gardner be a clubhouse policeman and address Sanchez’s repeated lack of hustle now that it cost the Yankees a game.

“Whether it’s me or anybody younger - guys who have been around a while or not – that’s something that we talk about amongst ourselves and hopefully we all collectively try to do a better job,” Gardner said.

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Mike Carlson | AP

Severino's reaction

Before Gary Sanchez admitted that he didn’t hustle chasing down his first-inning passed ball, pitcher Luis Severino tried protecting his catcher and fellow Dominican when meeting with the press.

“He told me that he didn’t see the ball and, to me, I think he didn’t see it,” Severino said.

If you watch the replay, it’s easy to tell that Sanchez saw the ball the whole time after it rolled away from him because he went after it right away. He just didn’t hustle after it right away.

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WATCH: Sanchez's loafing costs Yankees in 7-6 loss

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Mike Carlson | AP

Will Sanchez be punished?

Manager Aaron Boone said that he planned to talk to Sanchez about his lack of hustle.

Would there be some yelling behind closed doors or a friendly “you can’t do that” sermon?

Boone didn’t say.

Boone also didn’t give a good answer when he was asked if he’d consider benching Sanchez on Tuesday or perhaps immediately remove him from a game if and when it happens again.

“First off, I’ve got to watch (the replays) and see what exactly we’re seeing,” Boone said. “I’m always having conversations with our guys positive, negative, whatever. But I have to see what went on first.”

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NJ Advance Media

Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.