Are the Red Sox the Hottest Team in Baseball?

Nobody in baseball should want to play the Boston Red Sox right now.

Boston has gone from sitting 14 games under .500 at 32-46 on June 25 to 63-51 entering Friday. That’s a ridiculous 31-5 stretch that has completely transformed its season.

And lately, they’ve been nearly impossible to beat.

The Red Sox have won nine straight games, including a sweep of the Dodgers in Los Angeles and three consecutive wins over the White Sox. During the streak, Boston has scored 66 runs, including a 14-2 blowout and a wild 12-11 victory in 13 innings.

This isn’t just a lucky hot streak, either.

Willson Contreras has provided some serious power with 23 home runs, 70 RBIs and a .936 OPS, while Ceddanne Rafaela is batting .287 with 15 homers, 16 stolen bases and a team-leading 123 hits. Wilyer Abreu has also added 20 home runs.

The pitching staff has done its part, too. Sonny Gray is 14-2 with a 2.78 ERA, while Aroldis Chapman has been dominant at the back end with 27 saves and a 1.86 ERA.

Boston still has work to do after digging such a massive hole early in the season. But that’s what makes this run even more impressive.

The Red Sox looked dead at 32-46.

Now they’re 63-51, riding nine straight wins and looking like a completely different baseball team.

Forget simply making the postseason.

If Boston keeps playing anything close to this, the Red Sox could become a serious problem for everyone in October.