Letdown for the Red Sox after a wild comeback win the previous day followed by a late night of travel? Nope. Not even close.

Instead, Friday represented another feel-good night in a feel-good season for manager Alex Cora’s team, which rolled into town with their No. 5 starter Martín Pérez on the mound against Phillies ace Aaron Nola, and won handily by a score of 11-3 at Citizens Bank Park.

• Box score

With the offense showing some early fight against Nola, Boston’s hitters were in such a good mood that they fought off fits of laughter when Pérez took a hideous swing at a Nola curveball that wound up hitting him on the foot as he struck out to end the top of the second.

“I just got to the box, and you're trying to hit the fastball, and he threw me a breaking ball and it hit my foot. But you know, that happens when you don’t hit and you play in [the] American League,” said Pérez. “But it was fun, and I was enjoying that moment and just trying to stay focused on my game.”

Fortunately for the Red Sox, they pay Pérez to pitch and not hit. And he’s been doing that really well of late. Over his last five starts, Pérez has a 2.22 ERA. For the season, he is 2-2 with a 3.55 ERA.  

In this one, the lefty outdueled Nola by allowing five hits and three runs while walking one and striking out seven over six innings.

“For him to go six, it put us in a good spot and we were able to stay away from certain guys and just another good one [by Pérez],” said Cora. “He’s been doing that the whole time. I think overall in every outing he’s given us a chance and that’s what we wanted.”

The timing of Pérez’s current surge has been perfect, given that it has come at a time when ace Eduardo Rodriguez and Nathan Eovaldi have been in a bit of a rut. Nick Pivetta and Garrett Richards have also stepped up, giving the Red Sox production that a lot of people outside of Boston didn’t expect from their rotation.

“Yeah, our job is to try to cover when one of the starters doesn’t have a great game,” said Pérez. “You know, our goal is to go out the next day and be the guy who can go more than five and win. [Rodriguez and Eovaldi] have been working hard in the bullpen and I feel that they're gonna get their timing back. That happens in the game, you’re not perfect, and we still have a lot of games.”

 The one thing the Red Sox have established through the first 46 games is that their offense is mostly relentless, no matter who the opposing pitcher is.

Already this season, Boston has come out on the winning end against Lucas Giolito, Jacob deGrom and now Nola.

“I think we want to face the best. You can prove yourself when you face the best and we did it today. We did it with deGrom,” said Christian Vázquez, who put this one away late with a bases-clearing double. “And with Nola, we scored a lot of runs on him. It’s fun to face those guys because you know they have great stuff and you prove yourself there.”

The Red Sox were pests against Nola, as the talented righty allowed seven hits and five runs (four earned) over five innings.

Perhaps the Sox also received some energy from the new guy. Danny Santana, making his Boston debut, belted a solo homer from the leadoff spot and made some impressive stretches at first base.

“He said he was a little bit nervous before his first at-bat, during his first at-bat,” said Cora. “And I said, ‘Well you’re only human. That’s part of what we do and if you don’t feel nervous at this level there’s something wrong with you. We all feel that way on a daily basis.’ He put a good swing on [the homer]. That’s what he brings. He can hit the ball out of the ballpark, we’re very excited that he’s with us and I know he’s going to help us.” 

The good vibes continue to roll for Boston. With the win, their third in a row, the Red Sox are 10 games above .500 for the first time this season at 28-18.

Verdugo might rest hamstring
The only negative from the night was that Alex Verdugo had to exit at the start of the seventh with left hamstring tightness after belting three hits against Nola.

“He’s doing OK,” said Cora. “We had to take him out at the end. He feels like it was nothing but just got scared. We’ll check him out tomorrow and see how he feels, and [I’m] not sure if I’m going to play him tomorrow. We’ll stay away from him most likely and give him some rest and check on Sunday.”

The way this season has gone so far for the Red Sox, someone will likely step in for Verdugo and come up with a big hit or two.