Red Sox Manager Alex Cora looks on during a game against the Atlanta Braves on May 7, 2024. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images/TNS

BOSTON — Manager Alex Cora is surprised the Red Sox offense has continued to slump for this long.

“I think everyone is,” Cora said after Boston’s 5-3 loss to the Orioles on Tuesday at Fenway Park. “We’re an offensive club. And at one point, we were the best offense in baseball.”

Not anymore.

Boston scored 12 runs in a win Monday but it couldn’t carry that momentum into Tuesday. The Red Sox have scored three or fewer runs in 14 of their past 19 games dating back to Aug. 23. During that stretch, they have gone 6-13.

Boston is four games behind the Twins for the final AL wild-card spot with 17 games remaining. The Sox also trail the Tigers by a game in the standings.

“We felt like whenever we face a righty we had a good chance to score a lot of runs,” Cora said. “And we haven’t done that the last month, month and a half.”

The Sox have 1,405 strikeouts this season, third most in the major leagues. They have punched out 90 times in nine games in September. That includes 13 strikeouts Tuesday when they had seven hits.

“It’s been the whole season,” Cora said. “It’s who we have, the personnel that we have. But we have good hitters. We’re not walking a lot lately and that’s a bad combination – a lot of strikeouts, no walks. You have to earn your hits. And we haven’t been able to do that. We have to take a look at it – if it’s just swing and misses in the zone or we’re expanding. We have to take a deep dive and see what has happened the last three or four weeks.”

Rafael Devers, who has dealt with chronic shoulder soreness throughout the season, has gone 13 for 68 (.191) with just two extra-base hits in 18 games dating to Aug. 19.

Triston Casas was asked if he has seen frustration from Devers because the slugger has been limited physically. Casas pointed out Devers had a couple hits Monday, then a walk and single Tuesday.

“He had a bunch of hard hit outs the last couple of games against the White Sox,” Casas said. “That frustrating one on Saturday – lined out a couple of times at 103-plus (exit velocities). The game is going to start evening out for him. I know he hit a little skid there. But he’s going to start finding holes again. … We all know the type of leader that he is. He’s going to play banged up. He’s going to go out there and give his 100% every day. We feed off that energy. He’s going to keep doing his thing and we like him in that two hole, for sure. I know he was hitting fourth there for a while but we like the tone that he sets right behind (Jarren) Duran.”

Cora said the whole team has “slumped together.”

“If you take a look at it, when we were hot, everybody was hitting the ball all over the place,” Cora said. “It just happens that everybody is struggling at the same time.”

Casas added, “Collectively outside of yesterday we’ve all kind of hit a skid at the same time. We’re hoping to all hit the other side of the pendulum for these last two weeks. It’s going to be a great stretch of baseball down the road. Big game tomorrow and then onto a big road trip to New York and Tampa. But yeah, we’re focused on tomorrow and winning tomorrow and learning from today. And trying to not repeat the same mistakes as today and keep moving forward.”

TREVOR STORY’S rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester lasted only four games and 16 plate appearances. But it was enough time for him to get a look at baseball’s No. 1 prospect, Roman Anthony.

“I couldn’t be more high on that guy,” Story said at Fenway Park on Monday.

At just 20 years old, Anthony is knocking on the door of the big leagues. Baseball America just moved him up to No. 1 on its Top 100 list. The center fielder entered Wednesday batting .340 (34 for 100) with a .419 on-base percentage, .949 OPS, three homers and 14 RBI in 25 games since Boston promoted him from Double-A Portland to Worcester.

“He’s so mature. You think you’re talking to a 30-year-old,” Story said. “Just the way he carries himself. He’s very confident but in the right way. He controls the zone, has really good at-bats. Hits the ball hard.”

The Red Sox have six prospects on Baseball America’s Top 100 list and four of them are at Worcester. BA moved Anthony into the No. 1 spot with Rays’ Junior Caminero graduating from prospect status after recording his 130th major league at-bat Tuesday.

In addition to Anthony, shortstop Marcelo Mayer is ranked 10th, center fielder/shortstop Kristian Campbell is No. 24 and catcher Kyle Teel is No. 25.

Story, who is under contract with the Red Sox through 2027, is excited about playing with this group in the near future. Story has spent significant time injured the past two years, but Cora calls him “the quarterback” when healthy because of the way he communicates with other defenders and makes the entire infield better. He has 79 career defensive runs saved at shortstop.

The Red Sox will look to Story to help these young prospects with the transition to the big leagues.

“We’re in a good spot organizationally,” Story said. “They have put a lot of work into the development side and I think that these guys are seeing the benefits of that. And it’s fun to see the possibility of playing with those guys soon.”

How hard Anthony hits the ball for someone his age (or really any age) stands out as Story mentioned. He has home runs at Worcester that have gone 415 feet with a 108.1 mph exit velocity and 433 feet with a 108.9 mph exit velocity.

He blasted a 116-mph homer for Portland on July 31, the hardest hit ball in the organization (majors and minors) this season.

Devers has the hardest max exit velocity (114.7 mph) for Boston this year.

Only 15 balls have been hit with an exit velocity of 116 mph or higher in the major leagues in 2024.