Red Sox power outage has been behind slide out of wild card spot

Boone compared the Sox to a hockey team, saying Cora makes what feels like line changes during the game.

The Sox also score about as often as a hockey team lately. A 2-1, 10-inning loss against the Yankees on Thursday night was the 14th time in the last 20 games they scored three or fewer runs.

The Sox were hitless in 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position. The only run was a solo homer by Danny Jansen in the fifth inning.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise. Triston Casas has hit .243 with little power since coming off the injured list in August after missing nearly four months.

Trevor Story is 3 for 18 with one RBI in five games since a long absence following shoulder surgery.

Jarren Duran is 9 for 47 (.191) with one extra-base hit, three RBIs, and 12 strikeouts over 11 games this month. He looks worn down.

Counting minor league games, Duran has 255 more plate appearances then he had last season and has played 471 more innings in the field.

Rafael Devers is 8 of 50 (.160) with one RBI and one extra-base hit in 13 games since he sat out three games because of soreness in both shoulders. He hit out three times on Thursday.

“That’s part of baseball. There are times you go through these stretches and that’s happening to me right now,” Devers said via a translator. “I’m not perfect.”

It feels like the Sox will — or at least should — shut Devers down once they are officially eliminated from postseason contention. They are 4½ games out with only 15 games to play.

The Sox wasted excellent pitching on Thursday. Cooper Criswell and five relievers held the Yankees to one run over nine innings — a solo homer by Gleyber Torres leading off the bottom of the first.

The bottom of the 10th didn’t last long against Josh Winckowski as Juan Soto rolled a single into center field and Jon Berti scored from second base.

“It seems like when we turned the corner pitching-wise we haven’t been able to score runs,” Cora said. “It’s been tough.”

The Sox were third in the American League in runs per game (4.96) through Aug. 6. Their .772 OPS was just behind the Yankees (.773) for the league lead.

At 61-52, they were contending for the division title, not just a wild card berth.

They are 13-21 since and have averaged 4.03 runs with a .676 OPS.

“We were more dynamic a month and a half ago, two months ago,” Cora said.

Cora believes the loss of infielder David Hamilton to a fractured left index finger on Aug. 28 was a significant setback. He was hitting a modest .248 with a .303 on-base percentage, but had 33 stolen bases on 37 attempts.

“Without Hammy, we don’t have the personnel to be as aggressive,” Cora said.

In time, the question will be how to design the lineup for next season.

It feels inevitable that some of the major league position players will be traded to improve the pitching staff and open spots for the highly regarded prospects in Triple A Worcester.

The “traditional Red Sox” Boone spoke of could make a comeback, especially if ownership decides to provide a more competitive payroll.

Somewhere in the mix of players used this season are ones who will help form a true contender.

But that’s unlikely to make much of a difference in the remaining days of this season.

Peter Abraham can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @PeteAbe.