It can always get worse.
One strike away from securing a much-needed win, the Yankees instead sank further into a losing streak in crushing fashion.
After Clay Holmes blew a two-run lead with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, Tommy Kahnle gave up a two-run homer in the top of the 10th that dealt the Yankees their fourth straight loss, 5-3 to the Red Sox on Friday night in The Bronx.
On a muggy night at the Stadium that was interrupted by rain, the Yankees were on the verge of winning ugly.
They had committed two errors in the field, one costly blunder on the basepaths, and only had five hits, all of them singles, entering the ninth inning.
Holmes got two outs before ex-Met Dominic Smith prolonged the game with a pinch-hit single.
That brought up Masataka Yoshida, who battled for an eight-pitch at-bat that ended in a game-tying, two-run homer to right that silenced the sellout crowd of 47,158.
Ceddanne Rafaela then crushed a two-run homer off Kahnle to lead off the top of the 10th inning.
The Yankees (54-36) had the heart of their order come up in the bottom of the 10th against Kenley Jansen.
Juan Soto led off with a single to put runners on the corners before Jansen got Aaron Judge and Alex Verdugo to pop out on two pitches.