BOSTON — The sure sign for Red Sox manager Alex Cora that things are getting serious in the baseball playoffs: He got a text from Patriots coach Bill Belichick wishing him luck.

“That’s like the highlight of the year,” Cora gushed before Game 3 of the AL Division Series against Tampa Bay on Sunday. “I got the text from this random area code. That’s cool, to be honest with you, for somebody of his status to wish us luck.”

Cora said Belichick reached out before Tuesday’s wild-card victory over the New York Yankees, and texted again after. Although the two have met several times, including when the 2018 World Series champions were honored before a Patriots game, “This is more personal,” Cora said.

The genial Red Sox manager said he saw a different side of Belichick than the one the dour coach shows through the media. Cora, who has one World Series ring as a Red Sox player and another as the manager, wondered aloud to reporters whether he might go all Belichickian if he wins a few more.

“I won’t promise you,” he said, “but I don’t think I will change.”