What Alex Cora joked about with Red Sox veteran Alex Bregman (go-ahead HR)

Red Sox manager Alex Cora isn’t sure about veteran third baseman Alex Bregman’s exact career statistics during Sunday afternoon games at Fenway Park.

But for Cora, it feels like Bregman is a sure bet to deliver.

“I was joking with him. ... I was like, ‘Man, every Sunday here since 2017, you’ve been good,’” Cora said. “I don’t know what the numbers are. Probably made that stuff up. But it feels like day game, Sunday, Alex has crushed us in the past (when he was with Houston). And this year, he’s doing a good job.”

Bregman led Boston to a 4-3 comeback win over the Dodgers here Sunday with a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth inning. The Sox won the three-game series, 2-1.

“Felt great just to give us a lead,” Bregman said. “And our pitching staff came in and did a heck of a job.”

Is there something to Cora’s theory?

“Day games at Fenway,” Bregman said, smiling. “No, honestly it’s super fun to play here in this environment. As you saw the last two weeks, I feel like this place has been absolutely rocking.”

Bregman thinks the fans are into it because they have the same belief as the players.

“My first year in the big leagues, we came here during the playoffs and that’ll always be stuck in my head how crazy that environment was,” Bregman said. “And it’s feeling more and more like that I think because not only do we believe that we’re a playoff ball club, but I think our fans do as well.”

Rookie Roman Anthony and Bregman in consecutive at-bats turned a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead in the fifth. Anthony — who was batting leadoff for the first time in his MLB career— hit an RBI triple that deflected off the Green Monster and went over left fielder Michael Conforto’s head back toward the infield. One pitch later, Bregman crushed a 400-foot two-run homer off Dodgers starter Dustin May that cleared the Monster.

Anthony said about Bregman, “It’s almost automatic. Just in my head, I’m like, ‘Don’t mess up here ... because he’s gonna do it. He’s gonna go out there and get it done.’ So just do what I gotta do, get my secondary (lead) and watch him do what he does. It’s fun.”

Bregman — who connected on a first-pitch 84.8 mph sweeper from May — said he simplified his approach, trying to hit a ball “in the air to the big part of the field.”

"I was just looking for a fastball to hit through the middle of the field and recognized it (the sweeper)," he said.

Bregman missed 43 games from May 24-July 11 with a right quad strain. He is 11-for-38 (.289) with a .308 on-base percentage, .500 slugging percentage, .808 OPS, two home runs, two doubles, six RBIs, one walk and three strikeouts in 11 games since returning from the IL.

“He’s getting close, very close,” Cora said. “He put some good swings yesterday. Today he missed a few pitches early in the game, and then he got a pitch that he could handle and hit it out of the ballpark.”

Bregman and assistant hitting coach Dillon Lawson chatted before Sunday’s game.

“I was kind of looking out my left eye to hit, so I kind of opened up my eyes to actually like use both eyes. So probably should try that,” Bregman said, smiling.

The Red Sox improved to 57-50. They currently hold a half-game lead over the Mariners and Rangers for the second of the three AL Wild Card spots.

"I feel like we believe that we’re a good team,“ Bregman said. ”We believe that we’re a playoff team. And we believe when we play at a high level that we can play with anybody. And I think this group has a lot of confidence in one another and just got to continue to focus on execution."