This story was excerpted from Ian Browne's Red Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

DETROIT -- It is Labor Day and the Red Sox are in a rut, trailing the Royals and the Twins by 4 1/2 games in the American League Wild Card standings as they head to Citi Field for the start of a three-game series against the Mets.

It has been a roller-coaster season -- one with four weeks to go.

FanGraphs gives the Red Sox (70-67) a 14.9 percent chance to make the playoffs.

Yes, a lot of things would have to go right for manager Alex Cora’s squad to play meaningful games in October for the first time since 2021. Here are five of them.

Offensive revival

One of the most frustrating things about the 2024 Red Sox is that they’ve been the classic “hit when they don’t pitch” and “pitch when they don’t hit” club.

Of late, the offense has been the team’s biggest problem. Jarren Duran, who is having a tremendous season, can’t do it by himself. Duran had the only RBI in Sunday’s frustrating 4-1 loss to the Tigers.

While Cora was under a microscope for taking Cooper Criswell out after four perfect innings, things like this wouldn’t be so magnified if the offense was doing its thing.

In the last 10 games, Boston’s offense has a collective line of .205/.246/.357 while scoring 2.90 runs per game. It should come as no surprise that the Sox are 3-7 in those games.

“Right now there's not much going on,” said Cora. “It’s been going on for a while. We’ve just got to regroup, re-assess and go from there. We're not even [hitting the ball hard]. We haven’t done that in a while. We have to get back to dominating the strike zone, hit pitches in the zone, hit them hard. And when you start doing that, good things are going to happen.”

Most glaringly, Rafael Devers, Boston’s most dangerous hitter, is coming off an August in which his OPS was .709. It is obvious Devers has been grinding through discomfort in both of his shoulders. Equally obvious is that he needs to become a force again for the Red Sox to have a chance.

Devers rested for three straight games at the end of the last homestand. Earlier in the season, rest served him well. But when he returned to the lineup in Detroit, Devers looked mechanically out of sync, going 1-for-13 in the series.

“I feel better with my shoulder with those off-days,” Devers said. “I lost a couple of games and I’m not going through the best moment right now, but I’m certain I’m going to get my timing back.”

Rotation stability

For the Red Sox, the most encouraging development amid a frustrating week was the performance of their starters. In the most recent turn through the rotation, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck, Nick Pivetta and Criswell combined to allow just four earned runs in 30 2/3 innings.

It was reminiscent of the first couple of months of the season, when Boston's rotation was remarkable.

If the starters can keep doing their jobs, it will ease the burden on the bullpen.

Staying in it until Story's return

A scenario nobody could have predicted in April -- Trevor Story playing again this season -- is going to happen. Story recovered from surgery to repair a fractured left shoulder faster than anyone expected. On Sunday, he belted a pair of hits as the DH in the start of his Minor League rehab assignment for Triple-A Worcester.

Defense is where Story will help the Red Sox most when he comes back. He is an elite defender at short and his presence should allow Ceddanne Rafaela to shift over to second base, a position that has become a source of concern with David Hamilton fracturing his left index finger last week.

Story might need a couple of weeks to get his timing back. The Red Sox need to find a way to stay in striking distance for Story’s return.

The comeback of Hendriks

Story isn’t the only former All-Star who can give the Red Sox a boost down the stretch. Liam Hendriks is closing in on his return from Tommy John surgery.

The righty would give Cora another high-leverage reliever to go along with Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin and Justin Slaten. Hendriks will make the sixth appearance of his Minor League rehab assignment on Wednesday, and he could return within the week.

Owning homefield

Of the remaining 25 games, 12 are at home, where the Red Sox are 31-38. Only the White Sox and Angels have worse home records in the AL. The Red Sox need to find a way to turn Fenway into an advantage again and get the crowd more involved.

The final three games of the season are at home against the Rays, and the Red Sox would love for those games to be meaningful. To make them so, they’ll need to play better in the nine home games that precede that series.