Red Sox Notes: Boston’s AL Wild Card Hopes Takes Massive Blow

The Red Sox needed to at-worst split the series against the Yankees over the weekend, but they’re instead looking for a lot to happen in the final weeks of the season.

Boston had multiple opportunities against New York in its four-game series against its American League East rival. But Aaron Judge showed why he’s the AL MVP favorite with his grand slam Friday, and the offense failed to show up when it mattered the most.

“It was a bad series because we lost three out of four. We were in every game,” Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “I was just talking to (Rob Refsnyder); you look at this week, we played Baltimore and the Yankees. We lost three here, one at home, but every game was a close one. But that’s not enough in this league. You don’t get wins by playing tough games. You get W’s when you win games, and we haven’t been doing it.”

Boston trailed the Twins 4 1/2 games after Sunday’s 5-2 loss. It does play Minnesota next weekend, but it also needs the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners to collapse down the stretch to have a chance at clinching a playoff berth.

“It’s been tough,” Cora said when asked about Boston not building winning streaks post-All-Star break. “We’ve lost games in a lot of different ways. We’ve been talking about the offense lately, but I think they’re doing a good job bouncing back. At one point, it was the rotation. At another point, it was the bullpen. I think as a whole, if you look at our season, yeah, it might be a good one in the eyes of a lot of people. But we feel we can play in October. Right now, it’s getting tougher.”

Here are more notes from Sunday’s Red Sox-Yankees matchup:

— As Cora alluded to, Boston hasn’t been able to hit on all cylinders since the All-Star break. Kutter Crawford was hurt by two home runs, making it 33 dingers he’s given up this season, the most by any MLB pitcher.

— Jarren Duran hasn’t performed as well as he did when he was named All-Star Game MVP. The 28-year-old went 1-for-5 and only has two multi-hit games this month after Sunday’s loss. He grounded into a double play twice Sunday afternoon, which was only the second time he’s done that this season, per The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.

— Connor Wong was the most efficient hitter for the Red Sox on Sunday. The catcher filled in at first base and notched his sixth three-hit game of the season.

— Wong played first base for Triston Casas due to lefty Carlos Rodón starting for the Yankees. Someone who hasn’t had trouble against southpaws is Tyler O’Neill. The Red Sox outfielder has a 2.084 OPS against lefties since Aug. 28., per J.P. Long. He’s batting 8-for-19 with seven home runs and three walks during that stretch.

— The Yankees added an insurance run in the seventh inning after Romy González failed to make a throw to second to start a double play. Boston continued to lead MLB in errors at 107.

— Legendary Red Sox broadcaster Joe Castiglione announced he would retire after the season, and Cora complimented the 77-year-old for always showing respect to him and being a bright presence in the clubhouse.

“Everybody here, everybody in the Nation, we know what he means to do this organization,” Cora said.

— The Red Sox have the day off Monday as they begin a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Tuesday.