The Boston Red Sox entered The Bronx with an opportunity to gain some desperately needed ground in the American League standings, but the division-leading New York Yankees made that late-season bid even more difficult for their all-time foe.
Boston's pitching, which began with right-hander Cooper Criswell, did its part by holding New York to just a single run through the first nine innings -- eight of which were consecutive shutout frames. But on the other side, the Red Sox had nothing for the Yankees. The offense produced four base hits, went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position, left seven men on base and struck out 14 times; the lineup's first three hitters, Jarren Duran, Rafael Devers and Romy González combined to go 0-for-12 with five strikeouts.
Needless to say, Boston did itself zero justice by its pitching staff or wild card odds. But the season isn't over yet, and that's what the clubhouse keeps in mind following the deflating 2-1 loss on Thursday night.
"You have to stay positive," Devers told reporters through a Spanish translator, per MLB.com's Ian Browne. "You can come tomorrow and win and then win the next two games and you still you’re right back there again in the fight. You have to keep playing, stay positive and anything can happen."
The Red Sox struggled mightily to apply any form of pressure on whoever New York threw on the mound. After Yankees starter Nestor Cortes, who last weekend was assigned to pitch out of the bullpen, walked Tyler O'Neill and Connor Wong consecutively, Trevor Story grounded into a double play to kill the potential start of a game-changing rally. Boston didn't create enough chances or capitalize on the ones that existed, giving New York plenty of time to work around a feasible 1-1 tie on its home turf.
Considering there are only 15 games to play for Boston, the Red Sox don't have much time to make up for what's been a brutal second half of the season. Boston went 13-11 in July, 13-15 in August, and so far, has gone 4-6 in September, yet the Red Sox aren't out of the postseason running just yet. Immediate urgency will be the decider moving forward, and the team still has a (rapidly closing) window to show up and deliver.
Here are more notes from Thursday night's Red Sox-Yankees series opener:
-- Red Sox relief pitcher Josh Winckowski took home the loss (4-2) after surrendering a 10th-inning single to New York's Juan Soto, which plated home the game-deciding run. Winckowski is now 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA through his last five appearances after allowing seven earned runs across 10 innings of work.
-- Boston catcher Danny Jansen was responsible for plating home the team's lone run, courtesy of the 29-year-old's ninth home run of the season (and third with the Red Sox), which evened up the score in the fifth inning and prevented a shutout.
-- The Red Sox dropped to 5-4 this season against the Yankees.
-- Standings update: Boston dropped to 4 1/2 games back of the Minnesota Twins for the final wild card spot. The Red Sox have six more division-rival contests scheduled on the road trip before returning to Fenway Park to host the Twins for a three-game set.
-- Boston and New York will continue their rival clash on Friday night. First pitch from Yankee Stadium is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET, and the second of four in The Bronx will be aired on Apple TV.
