Chad Epperson spent nearly a decade living in Andover. Now he's coaching third base at Fenway Park, helping guide a Red Sox team that has gone 20-3 since June 25 and climbed into playoff contention.

Epperson described the experience as "incredible" in a conversation with the Andover Townsman's Bill Burt at Fenway Park on Thursday, July 30.

Epperson, who celebrated his 23rd year in the Red Sox organization in June, was working as hitting coach for the rookie-league Sarasota Red Sox in his fifth straight season there when the call came. On Saturday, April 25, the Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora and most of his coaching staff. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow elevated Triple-A Worcester manager Chad Tracy to the big-league job, and Tracy brought Epperson along as his interim third base coach the following day.

Three months later, the results speak loudly. Boston has gone 40-31 under Tracy and sits at 56-51, holding the second AL wild-card spot. The surge accelerated after a June 25 win over the Yankees: the Sox rattled off a 15-game winning streak that tied an 80-year franchise record set in 1946.

Epperson credited the players for staying locked in through the upheaval.

"You have to remember, a lot of the previous staff was gone, some of the personal friends," he said. "For those guys to embrace the new staff, showing up every day, no hangover, win or lose, with a 'get to work' mentality, I can't say it enough. They have done it!"

He singled out third baseman Caleb Durbin, a former Yankees minor leaguer acquired from Milwaukee in a February trade, as a catalyst. Durbin brought clutch hitting and toughness the lineup had lacked earlier in the season, when the Sox were 32-46 before the June 25 series and stranding runners at an alarming rate.

Epperson also pointed to Tracy's leadership. After a June 22 loss to Colorado dropped the Sox to 31-45, Tracy sent a middle-of-the-night message to players via the team's Teamworks app: he wasn't going to turn on them, and they'd find a way to win together. Multiple players later identified that message as a turning point, according to the Boston Globe.

Epperson said he's been taken aback by how much Tracy communicates with players and stays the course regardless of results. No ego involved, he said. It's all about the players.

Roughly 90 percent of the roster showed up for a voluntary workout on the final day of the All-Star break, a sign the message had taken hold.

On Wednesday, July 29, Epperson drove to Worcester's Polar Park for the WooSox Hall of Fame ceremony, where Tracy was inducted alongside Dr. Charles Steinberg, Mark Fidrych, and Gene Zabinski. Epperson said Tracy is one of the few people he'd fight traffic for.

Epperson and his wife, Anne, moved from Andover to a Cambridge townhouse after his elevation to the major league staff. He also lived four years in Derry, N.H. The adjustment to city life and Fenway's intensity has been real, he said, but the atmosphere during the winning streak has felt like a playoff every night.

One night stands out. Scottish Night at Fenway on Sunday, June 14, drew a crowd Epperson called the most electric he'd experienced at the ballpark. The Sox lost to the Texas Rangers that afternoon, but the energy lingered with the team.

Boston beat Oakland 4-2 in extra innings on Thursday, July 30, with Andruw Monasterio hitting a two-run homer in the 10th. The Red Sox have won 10 of 13 since the All-Star break, and the trade deadline arrives Monday, August 3 at 6 p.m.