All of a sudden, the Yankees’ offense has gone cold.
And all of a sudden, the Boston Red Sox have overtaken them for the American League’s top wild card spot.
The Yankees managed only three hits and a walk in Friday night’s 1-0 loss to the Red Sox, who have now beaten them seven games in a row.
Red Sox starter Brayan Bello dominated over seven innings, during which he recorded five strikeouts and induced two double plays over 92 pitches in the Bronx.
Former Yankees farmhand Garrett Whitlock was similarly excellent for the Red Sox, striking out Anthony Volpe and Giancarlo Stanton on three pitches apiece during a 1-2-3 eighth inning.
And another ex-Yankee, Aroldis Chapman, tossed a 1-2-3 ninth.
The Yankees (69-59) did not get a baserunner to second base at any point in the game and sent only two batters above the minimum to the plate. The game ended with Aaron Judge on deck.
Bello has hurled 14 scoreless innings against the Yankees over two starts this season. He also threw seven shutout frames during a June 15 win in Boston.
Red Sox (70-59) now boast a half-game lead over the Yankees (69-59) in the wild card standings. The Yankees are 1-7 against Boston this season.
The Yankees entered this four-game series on a five-game winning streak. They totaled 14 homers and 19 runs during a two-game sweep of the Rays in Tampa on Tuesday and Wednesday.
But the Yankees have totaled only three runs through two games in the series against Boston.
Friday’s offensive outage squandered a bounce-back start by Max Fried, who hurled six scoreless innings and struck out seven.
It was the first scoreless start since June 25 by Fried, who entered Friday with a 6.80 ERA over his previous eight starts.
The Red Sox broke through in the seventh against reliever Mark Leiter Jr., with back-to-back doubles by Nathaniel Lowe and Connor Wong, giving them a 1-0 lead.
Boston threatened again in the ninth. After Jarren Duran walked and stole second base, shortstop Anthony Volpe tried to nab Duran at second on a Ceddanne Rafaela grounder. But Duran got back to the base safely, and Rafaela reached on a fielder’s choice.
The Yankees escaped the jam later in the inning, however, when Volpe threw Duran out at home on a Wong grounder.
With the loss, the Yankees fell into the second AL wild card spot, with the Seattle Mariners, who hold the third and final wild card position, on their heels, and the Kansas City Royals not far behind them.
The top wild card spot is particularly valuable, as it grants home-field advantage in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
The Yankees can reclaim that top spot with a win on Saturday afternoon, but it won’t come easily with Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet (13-5, 2.43 ERA) set to start. Will Warren (7-5, 4.25 ERA) is slated to start for the Yankees.
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