The Red Sox have been shut out for consecutive games for the first time since September 2023.

As for those other items of immense interest: Heading into a doubleheader Saturday, the Yankees lead the Red Sox by three games in the standings. The season series is tied, 5-5, with three games to go — so whichever club wins two more clinches the tiebreaker (should they finish with the same overall record).

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And by virtue of their place atop the American League wild-card standings, the Yankees at the moment would host the best-of-three Wild Card Series against the Red Sox — just like last year.

If the Sox can get into that top spot, all three games would be at Fenway Park.

“That’s important; I won’t shy away from that,” interim manager Chad Tracy said before the game. “If you have a short series in the playoffs and you’re able to play in front of your home crowd … it could be fun to play in front of your home crowd. But it’s a home-field advantage when you’re playing at home for most people.

“It wasn’t for us for a while, but it has been lately. If you get a short series, you’re able to play in your home ballpark, that stuff matters for sure.”

The Sox’ last best scoring chance came in the seventh, when they had runners on second and third with one out and Willson Contreras due up against Paul Blackburn. 

Contreras lofted a 262-foot fly ball to left field, where Cody Bellinger made a routine catch — and a less than routine throw. His 99.7-miles-per-hour heave to the plate was in time to get Ceddanne Rafaela for an inning-ending double play.

In five career games against the Red Sox, Schlittler owns a 0.56 ERA, surrendering just two earned runs in 32⅓ innings.

But the former Northeastern hurler was not his most dominant self, matching his career high with five walks, all to the bottom of the lineup. He issued a free pass to Caleb Durbin twice, Mickey Gasper twice, and Anthony Seigler once.

But Schlittler also struck out eight, including Nick Sogard looking at a cutter in the fifth inning for the 200th of his season — in just 162⅓ innings.

He became the fourth Yankee to reach the 200-strikeout threshold at age 25 or younger, joining Luis Severino, Al Downing, and Bob Turley. He also became just the second pitcher drafted and signed by the Yankees to hit that number — at any age — alongside Ron Guidry.

The Sox had their chances early, including on Durbin and Gasper’s back-to-back one-out walks in the second, and Wilyer Abreu’s two-out double in the third. Neither situation yielded runs.

In the fifth, Seigler led off with a walk and Ceddanne Rafaela smacked a single up the middle to give the Sox their best opportunity yet: two on, one out.

But when Abreu lined out to center fielder Trent Grisham, Rafaela was way off the first-base bag. Grisham threw to second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., whose relay to first beat Rafaela, doubling him off and ending the inning.

On Schlitter’s way out, with two down in the sixth, the Sox had one more chance, loading the bases with two outs against lefthanded reliever Brent Headrick. Tracy deployed a line change, subbing out Gasper for Jahmai Jones (walk), Jarren Duran for Eli White (infield single), and Seigler for Andruw Monasterio. Monasterio lined out to medium-depth right field.

Throughout, Red Sox lefthander Patrick Sandoval did his piece. He mostly cruised through 5⅓ innings and seemed to run out of gas late, when he fought Austin Wells and Paul Goldschmidt for a combined 16 pitches in the fifth inning, and allowed three of four batters to reach in the sixth.

Overall, Sandoval scattered three hits and four walks and held the Yankees to one run, on Goldschmidt’s homer in the third. Duran, in left field, didn’t even turn to watch the 430-foot shot into the bleachers.

Tim Healey can be reached at timothy.healey@globe.com. Follow him @timbhealey.