The phrase “nobody believed in us” is such a common sports trope that it’s almost cliche, but if there was any team for whom it actually applies, this Red Sox team would be it.

Now, this group is starting to make believers of us all.

The Red Sox wrapped up their surprising first half in style on Sunday, powering past the Kansas City Royals 5-4 in their final game before the All-Star Break. In doing so Boston goes into the second half holding the third American League Wild Card spot, back only 4.5 games in the AL East and a season-high 11 games over .500, their highest water mark since June 26, 2022.

Nobody imagined any of that would be possible. Nobody except, apparently, the men in the Red Sox clubhouse.

“Everyone in that clubhouse believed we could pull this off and win the division,” Cora said prior to Sunday’s game. “That’s why I keep saying we’ve got to aim high, you’ve got to keep going up there.”

Widely projected as a .500 team at best, the Red Sox came into the season with as little buzz as any team in recent franchise history. Coming off back to back last-place finishes, fans were largely disappointed by the club’s lack of meaningful offseason activity, and that disillusionment has been reflected in the club’s underwhelming attendance figures. Opposing fans have frequently taken advantage of the cheap and available tickets, resulting in numerous hostile takeovers of Fenway Park, especially during the season’s early months.

But since the start of June something’s started to change, and now the Red Sox have been playing like one of the best clubs in baseball for more than a month.

Since losing their June 11 series opener to Philadelphia and falling to 33-34 on the season, the Red Sox have gone 20-8 over their last 28 games. While they’ve surged their competitors have faltered, with the New York Yankees going 10-19, the Baltimore Orioles 14-16, the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians 15-15 and the Royals, currently one of Boston’s chief playoff rivals, just 13-16.

Sunday’s performance was emblematic of everything that’s gone Boston’s way.

Punchless and anemic for much of May, the Red Sox lineup pounced on the Royals right out of the gate. Jarren Duran (4 for 5) led off the bottom of the first by turning a routine bloop single into a double through pure hustle, and shortly after Rafael Devers drove him in with one of the longest home runs of his career, a 439-foot two-run bomb that turned Boston’s early 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 advantage.

According to the team’s official Twitter page, the ball was hit so hard it broke the chair it landed on.

Fenway Facilities Incident Report: pic.twitter.com/oxvCPPswb2

— Red Sox (@RedSox) July 14, 2024

Then in the second inning Wilyer Abreu and Dominic Smith followed a similar script, with Abreu smashing a ground rule double and Smith crushing a two-run homer 431 feet into the stands.

The Red Sox loaded the bases in the third, knocking out Royals starter Brady Singer after only 2.2 innings, but from that point the club began stalling out offensively. The club squandered the bases loaded chance, left two men on in the fourth and then had seven straight batters retired by Kansas City’s bullpen before Duran sparked another near rally in the sixth. He and David Hamilton (3 for 5) singled to put men at the corners with two outs, but former Red Sox righty John Schreiber came on and retired pinch hitter Rob Refsnyder to once again keep Boston at bay.

All told the Red Sox went 4 for 12 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine men on base, but the club finally broke through again in the seventh when Smith tallied his third RBI of the day on an two-out single to make it 5-3.

That was good enough for the pitching staff, who ensured the early lead held up.

Brayan Bello finished his disappointing first half with a solid outing, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk over 6.1 innings. He gave up a leadoff solo home run to Adam Frazier to start the game but was otherwise in control, with Kansas City’s second run coming on what was nearly an inning-ending double play in the fourth that MJ Melendez was just able to beat out, allowing the runner from third to score.

Bello allowed another solo home run to Salvador Perez in the sixth and handed the ball off to the bullpen with one on and one out in the seventh to wrap up his day.

Left-hander Brennan Bernardino closed out the seventh inning to preserve the one-run lead and ensure Bello’s fifth quality start of the season, and Smith tacked on some insurance with his RBI single to make it 5-3.

After that it was Kenley Jansen’s game.

Prior to first pitch Cora said Jansen “had to” pitch in the game given he hadn’t taken the mound since July 7 and was looking at another four days of rest over the All-Star break. He was summoned in the top of the eighth with a chance to earn his first two-inning save since Game 6 of the 2017 World Series, and he quickly mowed down the heart of the Royals order, striking out Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez in quick succession.

In the process he moved into sixth all-time for strikeouts as a reliever, surpassing Billy Wagner’s 1,196, and in the ninth he benefitted from an enormous defensive play by Ceddanne Rafaela, who threw out MJ Melendez at third base for the second out of the inning after Freddy Fermin cut the deficit to one with an RBI single.

Jansen then forced Nick Loftin into a groundout to close out his 19th save of the season, giving him 439 for his career.

The Red Sox finish the first half 53-42 and will now get the next four days off to rest before heading out west to start the second half. First up, the club’s first trip to Dodger Stadium since the 2018 World Series.