BOSTON — In what may be a Fenway Park first, it’s suddenly, miraculously, cool to talk about “1948” in any discussion of the Boston Red Sox.We’ll get to the specifics in a moment, other than to point out that Joe McCarthy, manager of the ’48 Red Sox, made a pretty, pretty bad decision when he sent a journeyman right-hander named Denny Galehouse to the hill to face the Cleveland Indians in a one-game playoff to determine the American League pennant. Ever since then, right up until the Sox won the 2004 World Series, “Denny Galehouse” and “1948” were always right up there with “Babe Ruth trade,” “Bucky Dent” and “Bill Buckner” in any grumpy discussion of things that went horribly wrong for the Red Sox.But the Red Sox did win 13 straight games in 1948. What makes that relevant to the news of the day is that it’s something that had not happened until this year’s Red Sox completed a 6-1 beatdown of the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday afternoon for their 13th in a row.If Boston’s nine-game winning streak going into the All-Star break was a “statement,” what’s happened over the past three days is Woodstock. By registering a four-game sweep of the AL East-leading Rays, the Red Sox made it impossible to keep bringing up that they had been feasting on bad and/or lethargic teams, or doing it with smoke and/or mirrors. Even better, for those who love great storylines, they are doing it with help from some players most Sox fans had barely heard of prior to this season. Tsung-Che Cheng! Andruw Monasterio! Anthony Seigler!The Red Sox are the hottest team in baseball. There’s no gray area here, other than the six innings of one-run pitching by right-hander Sonny Gray on Sunday that lifted his record to 12-1 and lowered his ERA to 2.49.The 1988 Boston Red Sox had “Morgan Magic,” a nod to Walpole, Mass., native Joe Morgan guiding the club to 12 straight victories after taking over as manager.The 1967 Red Sox had, “Look at them go, 10 in a row,” as play-by-play barker Ken Coleman would later declare in that epic “Impossible Dream” record album that every kid in New England got for Christmas that year.Now we have to go all the way back to 1948 — and, yes, in a good way — to find historical comps with what the Red Sox are doing. Sunday’s game was a sort of “opposite sketch” in that the Rays did all the things this year’s Red Sox were doing before they decided to win every game they played. For instance, it was the Rays who managed to give up three runs in one inning without allowing a hit. And it was the Rays who lost both their ABS challenges in the third inning. (The early-season Red Sox often abandoned their ABS rights before the third inning was over.)2026 Aces Project update: MLB insiders rank starting pitchersAndy McCulloughAfter the game, it was amusing to listen to interim Red Sox manager Chad Tracy try to steer clear of getting too gushy over the 13-game winning streak, since, after all, there’s so much more baseball to be played this season.“It’s really cool,” Tracy said, in that Richie Cunningham-from-“Happy Days” kind of way. “And … one game at a time, go to the next game, Baltimore tomorrow, and get prepared for that and keep doing it.”There was a little Bill Belichick Starter Kit in that response. But then Tracy dared to go on.“I won’t shy away from what we’re doing,” Tracy said. “It’s pretty incredible. It’s a fun ride and we want to keep it going.”Third baseman Caleb Durbin, who drove in a run on Sunday and has improved his batting average to .236, was part of a 14-game winning streak last year with the Milwaukee Brewers. This streak, he said, feels different.“Just because of the way we started,” Durbin said. “It feels really good to be able to climb back and play some good, winning baseball.”Willson Contreras, who clocked his 22nd home run on Sunday, a two-run shot in the fifth inning, was asked for his take on winning streaks.“In ’16 we went on a good run,” Contreras said, recalling his rookie season with the Chicago Cubs. “I don’t recall if we won 13 in a row, but I’m here right now, I’m enjoying it. It’s fun to watch the guys play baseball the way we grew up playing it.”For the record, the 2016 Chicago Cubs’ longest winning streak was 11 games. But they did win the World Series, their first since 1908.Nobody’s talking World Series with these Red Sox. Not yet. They still need another bat. Or two. But Tracy is right: Baltimore is next, and the Red Sox are two victories away from winning 15 in a row, which would tie a club mark set by the pennant-winning 1946 club.As for that bunch from 1948, the added pain from McCarthy’s decision to go with Galehouse prevented what might have been a streetcar World Series between the Boston Red Sox and Boston Braves. Greatest Generation-era Sox fans groused about that for years. Times change. The 21st-century Red Sox have won four World Series championships, and Galehouse is just a dusty chapter in Red Sox history. But at long last, the ’48 Red Sox and their 13-game winning streak are getting a fresh coat of paint.