ST. PETERSBURG -- The Yankees were down to three outs on Saturday, their lineup still gasping for production as Aaron Judge carried his 33-ounce bat toward home plate. Throughout a second-half slide that threatens to create the wrong kind of history in the Bronx, this has been their best bet to put numbers on the scoreboard.

Judge delivered, crushing his Major League-leading 52nd home run -- he’s on pace for an American League-record 63 -- but his teammates once again were unable to help. The next three batters were retired in order as the Yankees took a 2-1 loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field, seeing their lead in the American League East shrink to just four games with 29 remaining.

• Judge home run pace tracker

“It’s time to roll,” said designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton, who struck out for the second out in the ninth inning. “I mean, we know where it’s at. We’ve got to keep pushing and get it tomorrow. It’s still ours. We’re not where we want to be, but we’re still in a fine opportunity. It is definitely ours for the taking.”

Indeed, despite six losses in their last seven games and a run of underperformance that stretches back to the second week of July, the Yankees remain on top in the division -- proof of how dominant their 61-23 (.726) start was, more than anything else.

Judge’s homer off Jason Adam snapped a string of 21 consecutive scoreless innings for the Bombers; New York has managed only 16 runs over its last seven games, holding its slimmest advantage in the AL East since May 11. The Yankees once held a season-high 15 1/2-game lead on July 8.

“Injuries and [having] guys beat up is a real factor, but everyone deals with that,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We’ve still got to find a way to put points on the board right now. So the best I can tell you is, we’re in control of that. On the whole, we’ve done a good job. If we don’t dig ourselves out, you’ll have a great story to write.”

It was two weeks ago that Boone exhibited one of his most intense press conferences, slamming his right palm on a table at Yankee Stadium and bellowing: “It’s right in front of us!”

Though his talking points remained largely the same after Saturday’s loss, Boone’s tone was more deep sigh than fiery explosion. For the first time, he seemed to acknowledge the possibility that this Yankees season may not end with a parade.

“We’re No. 1 in the league in scoring, amazingly as that is,” Boone said. “If we don’t turn this around, that [collapse] will be the story. But we still have that in front of us. We have the people to do it.”

Rookie right-hander Clarke Schmidt matched his career high with 4 1/3 innings, catching an unlucky break as Yandy Diaz’s third-inning grounder struck his right foot and shot toward right field for a two-run single.

“We’re looking forward to getting out of this stretch,” Schmidt said. “The only way is through. We’ve got to keep grinding it out and dig ourselves out of it.”

The Yankees flushed a prime first-inning opportunity against Corey Kluber, with Stanton thrown out on the basepaths and Josh Donaldson grounding out. They wouldn’t get many more chances.

Kluber cruised most of the way, extinguishing a two-on, one-out jam in the sixth before retiring the Yanks in order in the seventh -- Kluber’s first time tossing a seventh-inning pitch since his May 19, 2021 no-hitter, when he wore a Yankees uniform against the Rangers in Texas.

“Kluber was good,” Boone said. “He was dictating counts all night, and we were hitting from behind all night.”

Boone acknowledged that “a lot of people out there are really mad,” and the limping offense is the biggest reason -- in recent weeks, his coaching staff has pointed to a cocktail of underperformance, pressing, injuries and focus as to why the Yankees aren’t scoring runs.

The Yankees have been held to three runs or fewer in 17 of their last 23 games since Aug. 9, batting .194 over that span. Saturday marked New York’s 13th game this season with three hits or fewer, the Yanks’ most since 1914 (15) and the second-most in the Majors this year behind the Tigers (15).

“We’ve just got to give whoever is on the mound a tough at-bat,” Stanton said. “Even if we get out, just wear them down a little bit. Just be a little tougher on them. We’ve got to keep working to get back to that. That’s what grinds out wins and helps us in close games.”