Alex Cora sums up the first half and Boston ends on a positive note

The Boston Red Sox wrapped up the unofficial first half of the season with a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park on Sunday afternoon.

Boston, which enters the MLB All-Star break 11 games over .500, currently holds the final wild-card spot in the American League. The Red Sox are just 4 1/2 games behind the American League East-leading Baltimore Orioles and 3 1/2 games behind the New York Yankees. Boston was 14 games behind New York on June 14.

Speaking to reporters before Boston’s series-clinching victory, Red Sox manager Alex Cora gave his overall take on the first half.

“I don’t think anybody would have believed this would be possible,” Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN. “There’s a lot of people in this clubhouse — I mean, everybody in this clubhouse believes we can do this and we can win the division. That’s why I keep saying, ‘We’ve got to aim high. We’ve got to keep moving forward.’”

“We’ve played really well over the last month and a half. Even when we’re struggling, we’re playing .500 baseball, which is a big deal. … We’ve got a lot of games left against a lot of good teams, but I think people can tell we’ve got a good team. We’re in the conversation and there’s going to be some big games here in September.”

Cora’s feelings are shared throughout the locker room, especially since the Red Sox enter the break having won 10 of their last 13 games. Boston led the MLB with a 9-3 record in July and is now 31-18 in 49 games since May 19, the best record in the league over that span.

“We’re going to keep fighting,” Jarren Duran told NESN’s Tom Caron after the game. “We’re a good team, we’re gritty and we’re doing really well right now. We’re just trying to have fun.”

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Here are some other takeaways from the Red Sox-Royals series finale:

— Despite 94 consecutive starts, the second-most by a Red Sox player since 1994, Duran showed early that he still has plenty of energy. Duran (4-for-5, RBI) had four hits in his first four at-bats, including a leadoff double that sent the sprinter flying out of the batter’s box.

“It shows we were ready to play today,” Cora said of Duran’s instincts. “When a guy like that sets the tone, it’s always good.”

— Red Sox slugger Rafael Devers gave the Red Sox a 2-1 lead in the first inning with a leadoff home run that shattered a seat in right field.

— Devers and Duran each had 45-plus extra-base hits, just the fifth time two Red Sox teammates have accomplished that feat before the break, according to JP Long.

— Kenley Jansen told Cora and his teammates he was available for two innings Sunday, and that’s exactly what the veteran reliever did. It was the first time Six withdrawals in the regular season of Jansen’s career, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com.

“I think it was a great day to get all my guys together today,” Jansen told reporters, as seen on NESN.

— The Red Sox enter the break with a 3.58 ERA among their starting pitchers (95 games). Boston’s bullpen has a 3.67 ERA, both of which are improvements from this time last year. The Red Sox also have a .254 team average with a plus-43 run differential, as seen on NESN.

— Red Sox general manager Craig Breslow spoke with NESN’s Dave O’Brien and Kevin Youkilis during the second inning of Sunday’s game. Breslow apparently hinted that the Red Sox could be buyers before the MLB trade deadline on July 30.

“We have to think about what opportunities we have to improve the club,” Breslow said, as seen on NESN.

— The Red Sox are 15-1 this season when playing on Sundays.

— The Red Sox return from the MLB All-Star break and head out on a six-game road trip. Boston opens the second half of the season against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night, with first pitch scheduled for 10:10 p.m. ET.