YARMOUTH, Mass. — Falmouth entered Tuesday’s game versus Yarmouth-Dennis at its lowest point of the season. A five-game losing streak. Three combined runs in its last three games.

The Commodores’ season was snowballing out of control. But despite all of their struggles, they still sat 1 1/2 games back of a playoff spot behind fourth-place Cotuit.

It was a deficit that certainly wasn’t insurmountable. But Falmouth needed to return to the potential it flashed earlier in the month to do so. A potent offense, highlighted by six All-Stars, and even mediocre pitching would do the trick.

But Falmouth did none of that on Tuesday. The ‘Dores (13-21-1) dropped their sixth straight game to the Red Sox (18-14-3), 10-3, keeping them multiple wins back from making the playoffs. Falmouth mounted a brief comeback by pulling within one in the eighth, but it fell short via Y-D’s six-run bottom of the frame, leading to another disheartening defeat.

Through eight innings, it seemed like Falmouth had finally broken through. After struggling to score for the first seven innings and trailing, 4-1, the Commodores finally got back on the board in the eighth.

They loaded the bases on a Kent Schmidt double, Adrian Lopez walk and Mason Eckelman single. Antonio Morales (Maryland) came through, slashing a two-run single to right to cut Falmouth’s deficit to 4-3.

But its pitching let it down, sucking all the air from its lungs. After not scoring since the third, Y-D exploded in the bottom of the eighth. Brayden Dowd executed a safety squeeze, then AJ Nessler cracked a two-run single into right-center.

The game was all but over. But the Red Sox weren’t done, adding three more runs via a wild pitch and a Thomas McAndrews popup single to right. From there, Y-D closed out its win in the ninth, handing the Commodores another crushing loss.

Falmouth didn’t show much promise coming in, either. First, the Commodores were blanked, 3-0, by Wareham, mustering just three hits. On Monday, they fared even worse, falling, 8-1, to Orleans, a team they’d already beaten three times this season.

To his credit, manager Jarrod Saltalamacchia continued to change things up. On Sunday, he made multiple lineup changes. Versus Y-D, Saltalamacchia started typical closer Joe Sabbath (Rhode Island) on the mound to open a bullpen game.

Sabbath had posted a 0.69 ERA through 10 relief appearances this summer. With Falmouth being plagued by rough starts, he looked to open on the right foot with one of his most reliable arms.

But Saltalamacchia’s bet didn’t pay off. On just the second batter Sabbath faced, Y-D’s Chris Hacopian slammed a solo homer to right-center, making it 1-0 before anyone could blink.

Things didn’t get any easier in the second. After leadoff singles from Yomar Carreras and Dowd, Nessler chopped another into right, plating both runners to up the Red Sox’s lead to three.

Falmouth’s offense couldn’t do much in response.

Y-D’s Clay Hendry shut Falmouth down in order in a 17-pitch first, then allowed only an Eckelman two-out single in an uneventful second.

The ‘Dores caught a brief spark with two outs in the third, though, after Maika Niu singled and Carl Schmidt walked. Kent Schmidt followed by rocketing an RBI single into right, putting Falmouth on the board with his 18th RBI of the summer.

But the offense wouldn’t mean anything if the Commodores’ pitching couldn’t keep it in the game. For the time being, they did just that.

Jackson Vanesko (Bryant) entered for Sabbath in the third and had just one small blip through three innings. After two two-out baserunners, Ryan Zuckerman overthrew Kent at first to make it 4-1.

But Vanesko rebounded after the unearned run. Despite leadoff singles from Dean Carpentier and Connor Capece, he got three straight outs to close the fourth. He ended his day by inducing two pop outs to the right side in the fifth.

PJ Rogan followed Vanesko seamlessly. The switch-pitcher from Sacred Heart faced the minimum in his first two frames. He struck out both Dowd and Capece in a 1-2-3 frame, then escaped the seventh via a double play from Zuckerman at third.

Vanesko and Rogan gave Falmouth all the tools it needed to claw back. But it couldn’t eke out the win. Falmouth’s offense, like its one run against Orleans, wilted after the third, wasting numerous opportunities.

Newstrom struck out to end the fourth with Eckelman and Osterhouse in scoring position. The ‘Dores had another two baserunners their next time up, but Zuckerman and Lopez got out on four pitches to end the jam.

Even after Hendry was replaced for Joshua Landry, the 6-foot-6 lefty stifled Falmouth. He retired all six batters across the sixth and seventh innings, Y-D’s first such frames since the first.

Falmouth had a chance in the eighth, but completely crumbled in the bottom half to hand the ‘Dores their sixth straight loss.

Instead of taking a step forward while it still had time, Falmouth’s struggles were magnified on Tuesday. The ‘Dores are quickly running out of time to salvage their season with just five games left.

Noah Nussbaum is the beat reporter for the Falmouth Commodores. You can read all of his articles on the Commodores here.