Think the Yankees are crossing their fingers?

As they watched the division continue to slip away with a heartbreaking 9-6 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park on Friday, about 250 miles away, their first baseman of the future took a step closer to rejoining them.

Two big steps, maybe.

Greg Bird clubbed a pair of home runs at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Here's video of the first:

And the second.

Greg Bird got all of this one. Home run No. 2 tonight. pic.twitter.com/8aWg1mUQoa — Conor Foley (@RailRidersTT) August 19, 2017

Bird played seven innings at first base. He's said he hopes he can rejoin the Yankees sometime in the next week.

Bird is recovering from right ankle surgery. He's been on the disabled list since May 2.

Starlin Castro (right hamstring strain) also played his first minor-league rehab game with Triple-A on Friday, going hitless in four at-bats. Matt Holliday (lower-back strain) went 0-for-4 with High-A Tampa.

Here's where the Yankees stand following Friday's loss, courtesy of the Red Sox's public relations department:

The Yankees snapped a four-game winning streak, falling to 6-4 in their last 10 games and 15-10 in their last 25.

They lost for just the seventh time this season when scoring six or more runs (39-7).

The Yankees homered twice. It was the fifth game with multiple homers within the last 10 games (16 total HR). They are 35-14 when hitting two or more home runs.

Friday's game was the Yankees' longest nine-inning game of the season at four hours and nine minutes.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.