Alex Cora credits the atmosphere at Fenway Park to the Red Sox’ comeback win

The Red Sox’ win on Friday was arguably their biggest of the season. Both teams traded runs for much of the game, with the Yankees hitting back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning to give them a 7-4 lead. The first of those two home runs was a 470-foot blast by Yankees star Aaron Judge that gave New York a 6-4 lead.

But the Red Sox began their comeback in the bottom half of the inning. Ceddanne Rafaela hit a two-run homer that put away the Green Monster and cut the Yankees’ lead to one.

A single by Rob Refnsyder and a walk by Connor Wong got things moving in the eighth. After the Yankees brought in closer Clay Holmes, Wilyer Abreu hit a pinch-hit double to tie the game before Masataka Yoshida hit a two-run single.

Kenley Jansen got the tying run on base in the ninth inning, but a strikeout of Judge earlier in the inning kept them from getting into serious trouble.

The win moved the Red Sox to just one game behind the final wild-card spot in the American League. However, they now trail the Yankees for the top wild-card spot by just 3.5 games, which feels remarkable considering they were 14 games behind New York on June 14.

As the Red Sox look to close the gap on the Yankees this weekend, Cora sensed that fans know how important this series is.

“We haven’t played a game like that against them in a while,” Cora said. “There was a buzz. They know where we are in the standings. Every game is important now. The back and forth was great. We didn’t throw. We have to be better there. But the boys didn’t quit. … We needed everyone to make this work.”

Wins like the one the Red Sox had on Friday also lend legitimacy to their recent hot streak of turning the season around and becoming a playoff contender. While the Red Sox have gotten better, Cora has also noticed an improvement in the crowd at Fenway.

“There’s a difference between what’s happening here now and what’s happening earlier in the season,” Cora said. “Early in the season, with all due respect, it felt like a museum, the Fenway experience.

“But now (the fans) are all for it. They like the team and they understand what we’re trying to achieve.”

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