McAdam: Alex Cora loves the Red Sox offense -- and believes the best is still to come

The good news for the Red Sox? The numbers are beginning to look cartoonish.

The Red Sox lead the majors in runs scored, batting average, doubles and extra-base hits. They're second in slugging percentage, homers and OPS. Three times in the last four games, they've scored eight runs, and they came within a homer Tuesday night of tying a franchise record for the most homers through the first 55 games.

They're the first American League team in 20 years to have two players with 17 or more homers (Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez).

The better news for the Red Sox? There's more in the tank, according to their manager.

"We still feel offensively we can do a lot better,'' said Alex Cora after the Red Sox steamrolled the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-3. "We're good right now, don't get me wrong. But we feel there's room to improve.''

That's ominous for opposing pitchers. Already the Sox are heating up in concert with the weather. Warmer temperatures help the ball carry more -- J.D. Martinez believes he lost a handful of homers in the first month of the season -- but it's more than that.

Martinez and Betts, of course, have carried the Sox, combining for 34 homers, 33 doubles, 82 RBI and 270 total bases, in just over a third of the season. But there's more to the Sox than their Dynamic Duo.

But only in the last few weeks has Andrew Benintendi begun to stir. Over his last 16 games, Benintendi has knocked in 20 runs and finds himself second in RBI on the team. He's been particularly hot at home, where he's registered 27 of his RBI and is hitting a blistering .378.

Mitch Moreland, who patiently bided his time in the first seven weeks of the season as Hanley Ramirez got inked into the lineup almost every day, has been freed for additional playing time and has already responded to the opportunity - in the five games since Ramirez was designated for assignment, Moreland has five extra-base hits and five RBI.

"Obviously we added J.D., which helped,'' said Cora. "But coming into the season, I thought there were a few guys who were (either) going to come back to who they were before, or take a step forward.''

There's Xander Bogaerts, who grew strangely passive at the plate last year and dealt with a sore hand from the first week of July on, cratering his power numbers. Bogaerts hit 10 homers in 148 games last season; this year, he's already got eight in 38 games, a huge turnaround.

But consider that the team went almost two months without Dustin Pedroia, who's sure to represent a big offensive upgrade once he finds his timing. And while Jackie Bradley Jr. was embarrassingly overmatched for the first seven weeks, he's now stirring, shortening up his swing a bit and driving the ball with authority, having hit safely in four-straight games and with hits in seven of his last eight, including four extra-base hits.

Then there's the catching tandem, at least half of which has found his stroke. Sandy Leon was 3-for-4 Tuesday with a homer and is hitting .419 over his last 10 games. Christian Vazquez has come around more slowly, but he's at least threatening to stick his lead over the Mendoza Line.

Despite his nine homers, Cora is correct when he notes that Rafael Devers "hasn't got hot yet. And you can see Christian and Sandy and Jackie the last few weeks, they're making adjustments, getting on base and taking better swings.''

Already, the pitching staff is full of appreciation for the lineup, particularly when they think back to a year ago, when the Red Sox offense seemed entirely dependent at times on hoping the defense would throw the ball around the ballpark and their ultra-aggressive baserunning would pay dividends. The home run was not a weapon in their arsenal. and a lot of low-scoring games were lost for want of the long ball.

Not anymore.

"It's really nice,'' said winning pitcher Rick Porcello. "Our ballclub, the runs we put up, we score early, we put the pressure on their guys. As a starting pitcher, you just want to go out there and limit the big inning, because you know how well our guys can swing the bats and the damage that they can do. If you can keep those big innings from getting up on the board, then we always have a chance.''

Cora, reflecting on the firepower, could barely contain a smile.

"It's fun right now,'' he said, "but I can't wait for everything to kick in.''