Friday night will count as one game out of 162, but the prime-time showdown between the Red Sox and Yankees had a distinctly October feel.

Facing off at Yankee Stadium in an echo of last fall’s wild-card battle and with a playoff rematch looking increasingly likely, the Red Sox had a chance to knock the Yankees on their heels and move within one game of their rivals in the standings.

But Boston just couldn’t get the big hit it needed.

After boasting MLB’s highest-scoring offense for nearly two months, the Red Sox were shut out for the second straight game in Friday’s opener, losing, 1-0, to the Yankees in the first game of this weekend’s pivotal four-game set.

Paul Goldschmidt’s solo home run in the third was the difference as the Red Sox went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position while stranding 10 runners on base.

Ceddanne Rafaela was also thrown out on the bases twice, once after getting caught straying too far from first base on a line out and the second time trying to score from third on a fly ball that wasn’t hit nearly deep enough.

The Red Sox knew they’d have their hands full with Cam Schlittler on Friday. No one who was with the club last season has forgotten what the Walpole native did to them in Game 3 of the 2025 AL wild-card series, and that dominance has carried over throughout this summer as Schlittler now ranks as a favorite to win the AL Cy Young award.

So it was no surprise that Schlittler once again brought his ‘A’ game.

Schlittler was overpowering throughout Friday’s outing, limiting Boston to only two hits over 5 2/3 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts, putting him over 200 for the season. The 25-year-old was uncharacteristically sloppy, allowing a season-high five walks, but the Red Sox weren’t able to take advantage of those missteps.

One baserunning gaffe by Boston in particular proved especially costly.

After Anthony Seigler drew a leadoff walk in the top of the fifth, Rafaela came through with a one-out single to give the Red Sox their first real scoring opportunity of the game. With Schlittler’s pitch count approaching 90, the Red Sox could have potentially knocked him out of the game, but Wilyer Abreu lined out to center field and Rafaela got caught too far away from the first base bag and was doubled up to end the inning.

Schlittler eventually came out with two outs in the sixth inning and his team leading 1-0 on Goldschmidt’s third-inning solo home run. He was pulled to a standing ovation from the Yankee Stadium crowd after walking Caleb Durbin with two outs, but vibes grew tense when reliever Brent Headrick walked Jahmai Jones and allowed an infield single to Eli White, loading the bases for pinch hitter Andruw Monasterio.

A base hit could have given the Red Sox the lead, but Monasterio lined out to right field and Boston came away empty-handed.

Red Sox starter Patrick Sandoval did everything he could to keep his team in the game, but he ran out of gas in the sixth inning and was pulled after loading the bases with one out on a single and two walks. Greg Weissert came on and picked his starter up, recording a lineout and a strikeout to escape the jam and preserving Sandoval’s line of one run over 5 1/3 innings with three hits, four walks and seven strikeouts.

The Red Sox had another shot to tie the game in the seventh but let it slip away.

After Rafaela singled against Yankees reliever Paul Blackburn, Abreu ripped a ground-rule double down the right field line. Had the ball not bounced into the stands Rafaela most likely would have scored, but Boston still had two men in scoring position with one out and Willson Contreras coming to the plate.

Contreras hit a fly ball to left field but not deep enough to score Rafaela, who tested Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger’s arm and paid for it. Bellinger delivered a perfect throw to the plate, resulting in Rafaela falling victim to his second inning-ending, outfield-assisted double play of the game.

The Red Sox never got another chance, and David Bednar closed things out in the ninth to lock down the 1-0 Yankees win.

The Red Sox (73-61) now trail the Yankees (76-58) by three games in the AL wild-card standings, ensuring they can finish no better than tied when they head home to Boston on Sunday night. The rivals will play a doubleheader on Saturday, with Jake Bennett scheduled to start the first game at 1:05 p.m.

Whitlock expected back

Interim manager Chad Tracy told reporters in New York pregame that Garrett Whitlock (right elbow inflammation) will likely be activated from the injured list on Saturday, when the Red Sox and Yankees have a doubleheader.

The reason for waiting an extra day was because Whitlock faced live hitters on Wednesday, and if he were used on Friday he would’ve gone twice in three days coming off the injury and probably wouldn’t have been available for either game on Saturday.

Trevor Story (sports hernia surgery) and Roman Anthony (sprained right hand) will not be activated Saturday, Tracy said, and will instead continue their rehab assignments with another game in Worcester. They could potentially return as soon as Sunday, but that remains up in the air.

“Sunday’s possible, but we’ll see how they feel after Saturday,” Tracy said, via MLB.com’s Ian Browne.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa (left forearm inflammation) was off Friday but is also expected to play Saturday for the WooSox.

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