The Boston Red Sox entered The Bronx with a chance to pick up some winning power. desperate needed ground in the American League, but the division-leading New York Yankees made it even more difficult for their absolute opponent to secure a spot at the end of the season.

Boston’s pitching, which began with right-hander Cooper Criswell, did its part by limiting New York to just one run through the first nine innings — eight of which were consecutive shutout frames. But the Red Sox had nothing on the Yankees. The offense produced four hits, went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position, stranded seven and struck out 14 times; the lineup’s first three batters, Jarren Duran, Rafael Devers and Romy González, combined to go 0-for-12 with five strikeouts.

Needless to say, Boston didn’t do itself justice with its pitching staff or wild card odds. But the season isn’t over yet, and that’s what the clubhouse is keeping in mind after Thursday night’s depressing 2-1 loss.

“You’ve got to stay positive,” Devers told reporters through a Spanish interpreter, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com. “You can come in and win tomorrow and then win the next two games and you’re still in contention. You’ve got to keep playing, stay positive and anything can happen.”

The Red Sox struggled to apply pressure to whoever New York pitched. After Yankees starter Nestor Cortes, who had been assigned to pitch out of the bullpen last week, walked Tyler O’Neill and Connor Wong in succession, Trevor Story hit a double play to stop the start of a potential game-changing rally. Boston failed to create enough chances or capitalize on the ones it did have, giving New York enough time to avoid a formidable 1-1 tie on home turf.

Given that Boston has just 15 games left, the Red Sox don’t have much time to make up for what has been 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 out of the postseason yet. Immediate urgency will be the deciding factor, and the team still has a (swiftly closing) window to step up and deliver.

Here are more notes from Thursday night’s Red Sox-Yankees season opener:

— Red Sox relief pitcher Josh Winckowski took home the loss (4-2) after allowing a 10th-inning single to New York’s Juan Soto to drive in the go-ahead run. Winckowski is now 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA in his last five appearances after allowing seven earned runs in 10 innings of work.

— Boston catcher Danny Jansen was responsible for driving in the team’s lone run, thanks to the 29-year-old’s ninth home run of the season (and third with the Red Sox) that tied the score in the fifth inning and prevented a shutout.

— The Red Sox lost to the Yankees 5-4 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 division-rival games remaining on the road trip before returning to Fenway Park to host the Twins for a three-game set.

— Boston and New York continue their rival clash Friday night. First pitch from Yankee Stadium is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET, and the second of four in the Bronx will air on Apple TV.