The Red Sox are starting to make people pay attention

While the Celtics were partying in Miami, passing the time before their Friday parade, the Red Sox did their part to reintroduce themselves to New England sports fans.

With their 7-3 win over the Blue Jays Wednesday night, finishing off a three-game sweep of Toronto, the Sox have won eight of their last 10 games and find themselves five games over .500 for the first time since May 1.

Alex Cora's club sits one game behind the Royals for the final Wild Card spot, and 1 1/2 in back of the current No. 2 Wild Card team, Minnesota. After the Red Sox, the next closest contender for a postseason berth is Tampa Bay, which sits 5 1/2 back of KC.

As for those odds ...

According to Fangraphs, the Red Sox now sit with a season-best 36.9 percent chance of making the postseason, significantly improved from the 15.1 percent they sat with on June 1.

While it's useless to try and get a definitive answer regarding the front office's trade deadline path at this point, this recent run has at least helped spice up the conversation in these final days of June. There is still three more games against a good Cincinnati team before the Sox return home, but if they do manage to hang on to this current trend against the Reds, the "Fenway Experience" might start evolving into something more than counting down to when Alex Cooper throws out the first pitch.

They continue to pitch, with Brayan Bello turning in the latest round of starting pitching optimism courtesy a six-inning outing in which he gave up just two runs. But during this 10-game stretch, it hasn't necessarily been the vaunted rotation serving as the anchor.

Since the run began on June 9, the Sox starter have totaled a good-but-not-great combined ERA of 4.38, going 4-2. The relievers, conversely, have been the ones to truly dominate, holding opponents to a .565 OPS.

Then there are the hitters, whose OPS (.849) has been the third-best in baseball over the 10-game span, managing six runs per game, which is fourth among all MLB teams. And then there are all those stolen bases. During this conversation-changing run, the Sox have swiped the second-most bags of any team (21), while attempting more teals than anybody (25).

All of it was put on display in Toronto, with the Red Sox stealing five more bases in the series finale thanks to Jarren Duran and Romy Gonzalez each notching a pair and David Hamilton nabbing his 20th.

So, now what?

As strong as the vibes are now, there is still a crossroads to navigate when it comes to truly investing in this team. That reality is rooted in a look back at one year ago, when the Red Sox punctuated a six-game win streak with a June 20 win at Minnesota, putting them four games over .500.

The next nine games, however, saw the Sox go 2-7, having to enter July at one game under .500, without the sort of trade deadline certainty that seemed at their fingertips 10 days before.

In fact, the June 20 landing spot has usually been rooted in hope throughout the Red Sox' recent years. In 2022, they were six games over .500. The year before it was 14 games over .500. And in 2019, the record stood at 41-35 before limping into July by losing six of their next 10.

Yes, Wilyer Abreu (who hit two home runs for Triple-A Worcester in his rehab appearance Wednesday) is almost back. And Triston Casas doesn't seem all that far away from returning. It all is paving the way for hope that these coming months will be more about the present than the future.

And while recent history suggests the buzz has just begun, the Red Sox can at least take some satisfaction that they are in the conversation. For now, that will have to do.