Alex Cora and the Boston Red Sox stay hot, as they scored a 7-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on the road on Monday to open a three-game series at Tropicana Field on a positive note. Apart from that, the Red Sox also snapped a particular skid that had been going on for over a year. For the first time since April of 2022, Boston managed to steal a win at St. Petersburg.

However, the Red Sox manager is not exactly feeling over the moon by that feat.

“Nothing special, to be honest with you,” Alex Cora said when asked about his team ending their cold spell at Tampa Bay's home park, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).

Nevertheless, the win was another crucial one for Boston, which is still trying to sneak into the Wild Card picture in the American League. At the moment, the Red Sox, with a 72-66 record, are 4.5 games out of the last Wild Card spot in the AL. The Rays, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, and Toronto Blue Jays are the teams currently in front of Boston in the Wild Card race.

The Red Sox looked as though they were headed to another road loss at the hands of Tampa Bay when the Rays got into an early 3-0 lead. But Adam Duvall got it going for Boston with an RBI single in the fourth inning to cut the Rays' lead down to two runs. In the sixth inning, Triston Casas smacked a three-run home run that put Boston in front for good.

Red Sox keeping their MLB playoffs hopes alive

Ending a skid against a divisional rival is always nice, but that is far from the only thing the Red Sox need in order to leapfrog their way into the playoff picture. They are unlikely to win the AL East with the Baltimore Orioles and the Rays having a big lead ahead of them, though, the Red Sox can remain a threat if they can take care of business in the coming days. For one, all of their next five games will be against either the Rays or the Orioles.