BOSTON -- They are halfway home, these 2019 Red Sox. And considering that things have often been a grind to get to this point, they’ll take where they are.

With a well-rounded, 6-3 victory over the White Sox Tuesday night at Fenway Park, the defending World Series champions are now 44-37.

• Box score

That puts them on pace for an 88-74 regular season. You are undoubtedly noticing that is well below the team’s franchise-best win total of 108 from last season. But that’s exactly why last season was historic. It just about never happens, for any team.

It stands to reason this edition of the Red Sox is plenty capable of playing better in their last 81 games, which would vault them into the 90s in wins. That is generally what it takes to play in October.

You’ve seen evidence of that lately, with Boston reeling off 10 wins in the last 13 games.

“I mean, we’ll take more obviously, but this is who we are right now and for everything that went wrong in the first half, we have what, 44 wins?” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “We’ll take it. We know we’re going to be better. We know that. I’ve been saying all along, I do feel that we have to be better. Little by little, we’re getting there but we still have to work.”

Some of the stars of the first half again demonstrated their worth on Tuesday.

Rafael Devers, who was the team’s top candidate to have a breakout season, has done just that. The 22-year-old third baseman put on a show against the White Sox, going 4-for-4 with three doubles. He is hitting .317/.369/.520 with 12 homers and 49 RBIs.

“He’s been great. He’s matured too,” said Cora. “Overall defensively, amazing, he’s been great for us. Offensively he hit second today and gets on base four times. The moment is not too big for him.”

David Price, Mr. Consistency amid a half in which Chris Sale has been up and down, walked none and struck out nine while limiting the White Sox to three runs (two earned) over six innings. The lefty is 5-2 with a 3.36 ERA.

“He’s been great for us the whole season,” said Cora. “We didn’t make a few plays behind him but he threw the ball well. Velocity was up, command was OK on the inside part of the plate against lefties and he got some swings and misses. Was able to elevate the fastball against the righties.”

Xander Bogaerts, who has been the team’s top run producer while Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez have hit below their expected levels, mashed a towering two-run homer through the driving rain to snap a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the fifth.

After signing a six-year contract extension just prior to the season, Bogaerts has made the Red Sox look smart for securing his services. He is slashing .297/.389/.537 with 15 homers and 53 RBIs.

A team leader, Bogaerts is focused on what the group needs to do better rather than his own solid numbers.

"We know lately that we needed to improve,” Bogaerts said. “We needed to play better. I think collectively as a group, as a staff, we just understand that and know how important it is from one game to the next and winning each and every one from now on forward."

If the Red Sox can get similar performances from Devers, Price and Bogaerts the rest of the way and Betts, Martinez and Sale can get closer to their usual outputs, a strong finish is likely.

Another thing that could fuel Boston down the stretch would be the return of key starter Nathan Eovaldi, who had right elbow surgery in April and has recently been slowed by biceps tendinitis.

While the bullpen remains a question mark, Tuesday’s return of Steven Wright from an 80-game suspension should be significant.

Also, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has never been shy about upgrading his team prior to the July 31 Trade Deadline.

Boston trails the Yankees by eight games in the American League East and is just one percentage point behind the Indians and Rangers for the second Wild Card spot.

“By no means have we played our best baseball,” said Price. “We’re seven games over .500. But we haven’t done anything great yet this year. To be where we are in the standings, I think we should be excited about that. I think we all know that we’re a better team than what we showcased this first 81 games and we look to get better.”