The Boston Red Sox found themselves in an early hole against the New York Yankees on Friday night after surrendering seven runs in the first two innings.

Alex Cora spoke to the media after the 9-6 loss at Yankee Stadium and was asked about the frequent early deficits his team has found itself in. The manager acknowledged how difficult it is to play from behind,

“It’s hard to play this way. Obviously, the bullpen is taxed,” Cora said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “We just got to get better. We have to pitch.”

The Boston bullpen kept the Yankees’ bats quiet for the middle innings, while home runs by Marcelo Mayer and Rafael Devers contributed to cutting the deficit to three. While the loss is what ultimately matters, the Red Sox skipper praised his team’s resilience.

“We made a game out of it, right?” Cora said. “I mean, they had to bring in Cruz and their closer in a game we were down by a lot.”

Cora went on to explain that, although they don’t count moral victories, forcing the Yankees to use their high-leverage relievers was a small success that could play into Saturday’s outcome.

The Red Sox used three relievers on Friday night, although none of them are likely to see action in an important situation in the series. Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman should both be available on two days’ rest.

Yankees closer Devin Williams has been excellent working on back-to-back days in his career, but setup man Fernando Cruz has struggled. Conditioning could be an issue for Cruz, who has a 15.7% walk rate on the second day of back-to-back appearances.