This was the kind of Fenway Park night the Red Sox dreamed of

Alex Cora punctuated a memorable win with a memorable quote.

"There’s a big difference between what’s going on here right now compared to earlier in the season," said Cora. "With all due respect, it felt like a museum earlier in the season, the Fenway experience. But now, they’re into it and they like the team and understand who we are and what we’re trying to accomplish. Are we the best team in the big leagues? We’re not. We know that. But the way we go about it on a nightly basis, I know people are liking what they see."

This was the kind of honesty Cora and his team have earned. No more thinly-veiled marketing Hail Marys. No more hollow hopes. Where the Red Sox have landed is in a spot that allows for very real reflection.

The Red Sox aren't the best team in the majors, but they are good enough make Fenway Park excited more about baseball than bobbleheads. That was on full display Friday night.

In one of the most memorable games of the 2024 season, the Red Sox put the uneasiness of their 1-5 road trip in the rearview mirror with a spirted come-from-behind, 9-7 victory over the Yankees.

It was a day that started with a trade for James Paxton, continued with chief baseball officer Craig Breslow proclaiming his front office was all-in on adding at the trade deadline, and was punctuated with the kind of win that suggests this team is worthy of New England sports fans' attention for the next two months.

The newly-fashioned Fenway Experience this time was courtesy a comeback that started with Ceddanne Rafaela's two-run homer in the seventh, a game-tying, pinch-hit double from Wilyer Abreu one frame later, and, finally, Masa Yoshida's game-winning, two-run single later in the eighth.

It was one game. But it was also one big game.

Yes, it was noteworthy because of the opponent. And doing it in front of such a raucous crowd separated the moment. But what its true importance could be found when looking at the date and the standings.

There are now just three games before the trade deadline and the Red Sox find themselves firmly in the buyers club. They are one game out of the final wild card spot, two away from the No. 2 spot and 3 1/2 games from the top spot in the wild card hunt ... currently owned by the Yankees.

As anyone who was at Fenway Friday night will tell you, it's not a bad place to be.

"I usually go down there at 6:30 for a 7:10 game, and there were a lot of people here," Cora said. “There was a buzz. They know where we’re at in the standings. Every game matters now. The back and forth was great. The boys didn’t stop."