NEW YORK – Few things in life compare to baseball in September, when the air begins to cool and the playoff races only get hotter.

Even more so when baseball’s greatest rivals are playing meaningful games this late in the season. The Yankees are trying to keep the division crown away from the Baltimore Orioles. The Red Sox are fighting to stay in the Wild Card race.

But on Thursday night in the Bronx, the Boston bats didn’t put up much of a fight, and lost to the Yankees 2-1 in the bottom of the 10th on a Juan Soto RBI double.

The Red Sox were 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left seven men left on base.

“It’s been going on for a while,” said manager Alex Cora. “It seems like when we turn the corner pitching-wise, we haven’t been able to score runs. It’s been tough.”

Masterful pitching performances by starter Cooper Criswell and the bullpen was the only reason Boston was able to force extra innings in the first place. Criswell gave up a leadoff home run to Gleyber Torres to give New York an instantaneous 1-0 lead in the first, but it was a Yankee Stadium classic: at 368 feet to right, it wouldn’t have been a home run in any other Major League ballpark.

After Torres’ short-porch blast, Criswell kept the Bronx Bombers quiet. He exited after 5.1 innings, charged with one run on four hits, three walks, four strikeouts, and one hit batsman. He went deeper than Yankees starter Nestor Cortes, and did so on fewer pitches, throwing 86, 54 for strikes. In the third and fifth frames, he set the Yankees down 1-2-3.

“Feel like I had a lot of things working tonight,” Criswell said. “Any time you can be out there and compete and save the bullpen, especially for a four-game series, it’s nice.”

“He was really good. Moving the ball around, changing speeds, kept them off-balance, gave us more than enough,” said Cora.

Cortes also held Boston to one run – a game-tying solo homer by Danny Jansen in the fifth – over five frames, helped along by a Red Sox offense that continues to struggle with men on base; he gave up three hits and walked three, but the Sox went 0-for-6 RISP with four left on base during his innings. The Yankees left-hander racked up 19 swings-and-misses and nine strikeouts, including five his first time through the order.

“First and foremost, give the guy a little bit of credit on the mound, his fastball’s elite,” said Red Sox hitting coach Pete Fatse.

Those solo homers ended up being the only runs scored in nine innings. Thanks to lights-out performances by both bullpens, two of the most powerful offenses in baseball could do no more by the end of regulation. By the 10th inning, Cam Booser, Zack Kelly, Justin Slaten, Chris Martin and Kenley Jansen had all contributed scoreless outings, including getting the Yankees to leave the bases loaded twice.

But against Cortes and relievers Ian Hamilton, Tim Hill, Tommy Kahnle, and Clay Holmes, the Red Sox collected just four hits, drew four walks, and struck out 14 times. It was an uncharacteristically quiet night at the plate for Rafael Devers, who’s hit more home runs at Yankee Stadium than any other road venue, and has more extra-base hits against the Yankees than any other active Major Leaguer. The Red Sox third baseman struck out in all three at-bats against Cortes.

“He’s grinding,” Cora said. “Obviously with the lefty, pretty tough; Cortes did a good job using his fastball.”

“He’s a warrior,” said Fatse.

“I’m not going through my best moment right now, but that’s part of baseball. There are some times that you’re going to go through these stretches, and that’s what’s happening to me right now. I’m not perfect,” said Devers via translator Carlos Villoria Benitez. “We haven’t had our best offense in the second half, but we know the kind of team that we have.”

Devers did, however, show off his improved defense in the bottom of the fifth. With one out and Soto on first, Aaron Judge rocketed one 104.7 mph to the left side of the infield, where Devers made a rolling dive, then ignited an inning-ending double play.

After three consecutive 1-2-3 innings, the Red Sox had a scoring chance in the top of the ninth. With one out, Tyler O’Neill doubled and Connor Wong drew a walk, but Trevor Story struck out. Pinch-hitting for Jansen, the only Boston batter to drive in a run, Triston Casas flew out to put the game in Jansen’s hands.

In their previous series’ finales on Wednesday night, the Red Sox and Yankees had each taken a 2-2 tie into extra innings and emerged victorious.

On Thursday night, the Red Sox couldn’t even move the zombie runner from second to third. Soto won it moments later, leading off with a walk-off double off Josh Winckowski.

Over 14 games dating back to Thursday, Aug. 30, the Red Sox offense has scored no more than three runs in 10 games.

“We’re going through a funk,” said Fatse. “The guys are battling, and this time of year, it’s all you can ask for.”

Asked if the lineup is pressing, Cora said they’ve been “talking about it,” but he wasn’t sure that was the correct diagnosis.

“I hit like .230 in the big leagues, I was pressing my whole career,” the Sox skipper said. “We talk about doing the little things, right? Move the guys over and driving them in, but right now – we did a good job, we walked four times today, that’s the first in a while. So we controlled the strike zone, but that wasn’t enough.”

Exactly one year ago, the Red Sox and Yankees were playing a four-game series at Fenway Park, each fighting to stay out of last place in the AL East. Tickets were going for as low as a dollar plus taxes and fees on resale apps. This weekend is certainly a more enticing scenario, but the stakes are somewhat similar: New York could effectively end Boston’s season over this long weekend.

It certainly felt over in the bottom of the 10th. And for several innings preceding.