With eighth win in a row, a shutout of the Mets, the Red Sox are just a half-game out of a wild-card spot

NEW YORK — Five months before a 4-0 win over the Mets on Saturday, more than two months before he was fired as manager, Alex Cora told the Red Sox all about this very moment.

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He did so by taking a cliché and making it personal. You know how the baseball season is a marathon? Over the offseason, he ran one — in New York City, of all places.

One of the most daunting portions of the course, Cora told players and staff on the first day of spring training, was the Queensboro Bridge. The incline is brutal. There are no fans. For runners crossing into Manhattan, high above the East River, the only noise is the sound of their own steps and the silent screaming of pained joints. It’s a long way from the start and agonizingly far from the finish.

“We got there and this lady, she was like, ‘This is where it starts,’ ” Cora recalled in front of the assembled organization. “I wanted to say, ‘[Expletive you], it started a while ago.’ ”

For these Sox, the analogy fits even better than Cora realized. That bridge represents the 15th mile of the 26.2-mile race, equal to 93 games out of 162 — the exact number of games the Sox have played. They reached that threshold, coincidentally, in Queens.

Metaphorically, the Red Sox are out of breath and probably wishing they had taken better advantage of the most recent hydration station. Their legs might be starting to hurt. But they’ve reached a sweet, sweet downhill getting off of the bridge — allowing them to at least temporarily pick up speed with a whopping 10 miles and 69 games to go.

On the field, the Sox’ momentum has taken the form of eight wins in a row (and 13 in their past 15 games). They have improved to 45-48 and are just a half-game back of the last wild-card spot in a crowded American League.

Five relievers combined to hold the Mets (40-56) to three hits. Andruw Monasterio and Masataka Yoshida each hit a two-run home run to account for all of the Sox’ offense.

The Sox fared well enough against righthander Freddy Peralta, whom the Mets acquired over the offseason to head their rotation. That has not worked out; his ERA is 4.66.

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The Sox touched him for two runs, three hits, and five walks in 4⅓ innings. Although they had plenty of traffic after Peralta struck out the side in order in the first inning, the only damage came on Monasterio’s two-run home run in the fourth inning.

Called up to help the Sox cover for the injured Ranger Suarez, lefthander Eduardo Rivera gave them everything they could have hoped for — and probably more.

He tossed 3⅔ scoreless innings and did not allow a hit until his final pitch, when Jorge Polanco lined a single to center to conclude a 10-pitch fight. Rivera struck out three and walked two.

Despite working as a reliever lately for Triple-A Worcester, Rivera threw 64 pitches (39 strikes), his most in a game since April when he still was a starting pitcher (with Double-A Portland).

Rivera, 23, has spent two days in the majors and appeared in two games — April 22 against the Yankees, followed by this one. His totals: seven scoreless innings, two hits allowed.

After Rivera, interim manager Chad Tracy turned to righthander Greg Weissert (three outs) and lefthander Jovani Morán (five outs) to get the game into the late innings.

Justin Slaten was tasked with the rest of the seventh, allowed the Mets to load the bases with two outs, but got A.J. Ewing to watch strike three to escape the jam.

The Sox pushed the lead to four in the top of the eighth. Chad Durbin singled, then Yoshida blasted one out down the line in right.

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