BOSTON -- When Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts run out for the bottom of the first inning on Tuesday night at Coors Field and take third base and shortstop, respectively, as American League All-Stars, you just know there will be some kind of wink or smile that they share.

During the past four years, their teacher-pupil relationship has evolved to something closer to best friends or even brothers.

On the field, they do everything together -- most notably the way they mash in the middle of Boston’s batting order. In the clubhouse or on flights, they play a lot of cards. Who is the better card player?

“He’s better, but sometimes he cheats,” laughed Devers.

That is just the way they are -- constantly talking trash, but always with the goal of making each other better.

• MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard: Tuesday on FOX

An MLB-high contingent of five Red Sox All-Stars will travel to Denver for the All-Star festivities. J.D. Martinez, Matt Barnes and Nathan Eovaldi round out the quintet. But the group will be fronted by the duo that manager Alex Cora frequently refers to as the “two amigos.”

• All-Star FAQ: All you need to know on rosters

Perhaps the reason Devers (an All-Star for the first time) and Bogaerts (a three-time All-Star) relate so well to each other is that their journeys to the Red Sox and with the Red Sox have been somewhat similar.

The Red Sox signed Bogaerts as an international free agent out of Aruba in 2009, a month shy of his 17th birthday.

They signed Devers out of the Dominican Republic in 2013 -- two months shy of his 17th birthday.

When Bogaerts got his first callup to the Majors in the middle of the 2013 pennant race, he was 20 years old. Seemingly with nerves of steel, he came up with several key at-bats that October and helped the Red Sox win the World Series.

Then came the lumps in his first full season in 2014, when he struggled with his consistency on both sides of the ball and found that living up to expectations was much harder than being the care-free kid who was called up as a late-season spark.

When Devers got his first callup to the Majors, it was also in the middle of a pennant race -- just eight days before the 2017 Trade Deadline. He was 20 years old, same as Bogaerts when he made his debut.

Devers mashed right away. Just three weeks into his career, he hammered a 102.2 mph pitch from Aroldis Chapman for a game-tying homer in the top of the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium on Sunday Night Baseball.

With the Red Sox down to their last gasp in Game 4 of the AL Division Series against Houston two months later, Devers set Fenway Park to its loudest possible decibel level when he ripped an inside-the-park homer that put the Red Sox within a run in the bottom of the ninth. Even though the Astros won the game and that series, Cora -- then the bench coach for the Astros -- couldn’t believe how unflappable and talented Devers was for a 20-year-old.

When Devers struggled with pretty much everything in 2018, it was Bogaerts who kept his head above water.

“During that time, he would tell me, ‘Don’t worry about it, you’re going to get better,’” said Devers. “And that’s what helped the most, especially with my confidence and the way he was able to reassure me that this is a process. He would always tell me that you’re not going to become a better player in just one day. You’re going to have to take your time and become the player you’re eventually going to be down the line.”

And even though Devers only hit .240 in 2018, he came up big in the postseason, just as Bogaerts did five years earlier.

There was a three-run homer against Justin Verlander in the clinching Game 5 of the American League Championship Series at Houston, that stood out like the double Bogaerts hit off Max Scherzer in clinching Game 6 of the 2013 ALCS. Devers also had the go-ahead hit in the big comeback at Dodger Stadium in Game 4, and the Red Sox were crowned champions one day later.

Bogaerts talks with pride about how far his friend has come.

“He’s just maturing in front of our eyes. He’s becoming a beast. He’s dangerous," said Bogaerts. "Just being able to see it when he’s locked in, it’s something you don’t want to take your eyes off him or go to the bathroom when he’s hitting.

“Not to say nothing bad about him, but he had some weight issues in the past. This year especially every time I look at him, I’m like, ‘Man, you look really good.’ He might be looking better than me. He understands that’s what it takes to be the player he is right now and continue to do that for a long time.”

Bogaerts has the same mentality. Agent Scott Boras remarked a few days ago that Bogaerts hardly ever goes back to Aruba in the offseason because he spends the winter months working out and trying to improve.

Where once it was Bogaerts who was doing the pushing with his younger friend and teammate, they now know how to push each other’s buttons.

“I think we push each other. There’s no hate, no jealousy. We do push each other a lot because we both see there’s much more we can accomplish individually,” said Bogaerts. “This year, he’s done a great job being able to recognize that. With me also -- just understanding when I’m going through a rough time and being there with some words of encouragement as I’ve been with him in the past.”

As for the future -- individually and collectively -- that seems boundless for the “two amigos” who play shortstop and third base for the Red Sox.