Rafael Devers takes over leadership position after defeat

The Boston Red Sox came to the Bronx with the chance to win some desperate They needed to gain ground in the American League standings, but the leading New York Yankees made that push even more difficult for their eternal rivals towards the end of the season.

Boston's pitching, which started with right-hander Cooper Criswell, did its best, limiting New York to just one run in the first nine innings – eight of which were consecutive shutout innings. On the other hand, the Red Sox had nothing to answer the Yankees. The offense managed four base hits, went 0 of 11 with runners in scoring position, left seven men on base and struck out 14 times; the first three hitters in the lineup, Jarren Duran, Rafael Devers and Romy González, combined to go 0 of 12 with five strikeouts.

Needless to say, Boston hasn't done itself justice with its pitching staff or its wild-card chances. But the season isn't over yet, and that's what the team is keeping in mind after Thursday night's disheartening 2-1 loss.

“You have to stay positive,” Devers told reporters through a Spanish translator, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com. “You can come in tomorrow and win and then win the next two games and you're still back in the thick of the battle. You have to keep playing, stay positive and anything can happen.”

The Red Sox struggled to put pressure on the New York players. After Yankees starter Nestor Cortes, who was pitching out of the bullpen last weekend, walked Tyler O'Neill and Connor Wong in succession, Trevor Story ran into a double play, thwarting the start of a game-winning comeback. Boston was unable to create enough chances or capitalize on those it had, giving New York plenty of time to score a possible 1-1 tie on home soil.

With just 15 games left for Boston, the Red Sox don't have much time to make up for a brutal second half of the season. Boston went 13-11 in July, 13-15 in August and 4-6 so far in September, but the Red Sox aren't quite out of the postseason. The immediate urgency will be deciding the future, and the team still has a (fast-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 suffered the loss (4-2) after allowing a game-winning single to New York's Juan Soto in the 10th inning. Winckowski is now 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA over his last five appearances after allowing seven earned runs in 10 innings.

— Boston catcher Danny Jansen scored the team's only run. The 29-year-old hit his ninth home run of the season (and third with the Red Sox) to tie the game in the fifth inning and prevent a shutout.

– The Red Sox fell to 5-4 against the Yankees this season.

— Standings update: Boston has fallen to 4 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins for the final wild-card spot. The Red Sox have six more games against division rivals on their road trip before returning to Fenway Park to host the Twins for a three-game series.

— Boston and New York will resume their matchup Friday night, with first pitch at Yankee Stadium set for 7:05 p.m. ET, and the second of four pitches in the Bronx broadcast on Apple TV.