NEW YORK – On September 3, 1997, the Montreal Expos (R.I.P.), collected exactly one hit and beat the Red Sox.

In one of those kooky only-in-baseball coincidences, 27 years later to the day, the Red Sox found themselves in similarly dire straits. Entering the bottom of the seventh, the Mets had collected one hit, but led 2-1, because said hit was a two-run homer by Francisco Lindor.

When all was said and done, however, it was a much more typical Red Sox loss: a strong starting pitching performances squandered, thanks to a quiet offense and a bullpen that’s been serving up wins to opponents on a silver platter ever since the All-Star break.

Mets 7, Red Sox 2.

Both starters delivered in strong six-inning outings. For the fifth time in his career and first time this season, Kutter Crawford went six (or more) innings and allowed no more than one hit. He issued two walks, and struck out eight. He threw 93 pitches, 64 for strikes. Other than the bottom of the third, when he walked Jeff McNeil and gave up Lindor’s 30th homer of the season, he faced the minimum in every frame. He struck out five of six batters over the first two innings.

“I think I had a good mix of four-seam, cutter, and like, moving both those pitches around,” Crawford said. “Mechanically, I feel like I’m in a pretty good spot.”

“He’s been on point,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Crawford’s recent stretch. “The fastball command has been good, and when he has that four-seamer on the top of the zone, he gets swings and misses, keeps them honest.”

The Red Sox tagged David Peterson with six hits, but only managed to score once during his start. He issued one walk, and struck out a new career-high 11 batters.

The close game ended with the starters. Justin Slaten took over for Crawford in the bottom of the seventh and immediately gave up a home run to his first batter, Mark Vientos. The Red Sox scored their second run to pull within one in the top of the eighth, only to watch Chris Martin give up four earned runs on four hits – including a first-pitch two-run homer to Pete Alonso – in the bottom of the inning.

After scoring one run apiece in three consecutive losses, Cora hoped that changing up the top of the lineup might reawaken the Boston bats and curtail his team’s rapid downward spiral. He moved Jarren Duran from the leadoff spot to No. 2, put Rob Refsnyder on top, and left Triston Casas out of the starting nine.

The rearrangements did little to rouse the Red Sox, who collected six hits in the first six innings, then went hitless in the last three. They were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base, including Duran and Danny Jansen, who singled in the first and second innings, respectively, to give their team an early chance to make something happen. They struck out 15 times, including two for Casas, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the seventh.

“The line is not moving,” Cora said. “We’re much better than this, much better. And we just gotta keep working.”

It’s a tale as old as time that when the Red Sox rotation is pitching well, the offense goes dark (or vice versa). Though not usually to such a stunning extent. Boston has been held to no more than four runs in 12 of their last 16 games. They’re 2-10 in those contests.

“When we were hitting, we weren’t pitching,” Cora said. “That’s the way it works.”

This season was supposed to turn out differently. Entering the All-Star break, the Red Sox held the third American League Wild Card and looked like one of the hottest teams in the game, poised to upset every preseason projection. They’ve lost four in a row, and are now only one game over .500. With 23 games left, the window to right the ship and finish with a winning record – never mind find a way into the playoffs – is closing fast.

“We got to find a way to win games,” Cora said. To that end, he announced that Duran will be back in the leadoff spot and Rafael Devers will bat second in Wednesday’s series finale.

“It hasn’t been easy,” Crawford said. “It’s definitely been a tough stretch, but we’re not going to bend over … And you know, personally, I think we still got a chance. We get on a five-game winning streak and we’re right back in it.”

But in the visitors’ clubhouse, the silence was overwhelming. Still clad in his uniform, Devers sat in front of his locker, staring into space.