The Kansas City Royals are back in playoff position thanks to a pair of MLB All-Stars

It’s a few days before the MLB All-Star Break, so perhaps it’s a tad early to be talking about playoff positioning.

But the Royals’ 6-1 win Friday night over the Red Sox at Fenway Park pulled them back into a playoff spot. The Royals and Red Sox are tied for the third Wild Card in the American League.

“Every win’s huge, whether it’s April or July, but when you’re squarely right behind a team and you beat them, that’s a good step forward for us,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “We will be ready to go tomorrow. It doesn’t mean anything over the long haul, but we’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”

On Friday, the Royals offense used a Swiss Army Knife approach.

Three singles and a sacrifice fly produced a run in the first inning. The Royals took advantage of an error, walk and hit batsman to push three unearned runs across in the next frame.

Then they lowered the boom, hitting a pair of homers.

That included a 429-foot shot that shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. launched in the fourth inning.

For Witt, who was a frequent visitor to Fenway Park as a kid, it was a dream come true to hit one over the Green Monster.

“I feel like home runs just kind of happen honestly by accident,” Witt said. “They’re mishit line drives and so just trying to stay (with) my approach and try to hit the ball hard — and if it goes over the fence, it goes over the fence.”

Some nights it seems there’s nothing Witt can’t do, and this time he hit one to a pair of Royals employees. Maritza Chavez, an account manager, came away with the ball and was a tad excited.

That was coincidental, of course, and Witt said he’ll let Chavez keep the ball (“They deserve that,” he said). But Witt is headed to next week’s All-Star Game with three teammates, including starting pitcher Cole Ragans, who was sensational on Friday.

Here are more highlights from Friday night’s game...

Dominant Cole Ragans

Ragans limited the Red Sox to a run over seven innings and he struck out seven. Red Sox hitters were off kept off-balance all night by Ragans’ pitches. He had 23 swing and misses.

That was Ragans’ second-highest total of the season, just behind the 25 he recorded last month against the Marlins.

“I thought overall I commanded it pretty well,” Ragans said. “I had a few deep counts, missed a few spots early, but at the end of the day felt like I executed when I needed to execute.”

Working Red Sox starter Cooper Criswell

The Royals’ first seven hits were all singles, including two that had an exit velocity under 80 mph. They hit a pair of sacrifice flies, and twice made Red Sox starter Cooper Criswell throw nine pitches in a plate appearance. One of those batters was Kyle Isbel, who drew a pair of walks.

Through the first two innings, the Royals were 3 for 5 with runners in scoring position, making the most of their opportunities.

Criswell threw 104 pitches in just six innings.

Salvy leaves early

Royals catcher Salvador Perez left the game in the eighth inning because of cramps. Earlier in the game, he had briefly stopped play while dealing with a leg cramp.

“We’re going to monitor how he feels tonight,” Quatraro said. “But yeah, he should be fine.”

MJ Melendez mashing

Left fielder MJ Melendez had two hits, including an eighth-inning homer. It was his third home run in his last four games.

“It’s really good obviously getting a win against any team,” Melendez said, “but obviously we know ... how they’ve been playing (lately), so to get a win against a good team like that is definitely good.”

Boston entered Friday’s game with baseball’s best record since May 19 (29-17) and had won 18 of its previous 25 games.

But the Royals slowed the Sox on Friday.

The Royals have now won four straight and improved to 52-43. A year ago, they won 56 games.

What’s next: The Royals will face the Red Sox two more times before closing out the first half of the season. Seth Lugo will be on the mound Saturday, facing Kutter Crawford. First pitch is scheduled for 3:10 p.m.