BOSTON — Disappointing as its conclusion was, the Red Sox recent nine-game road trip to Atlanta, San Diego and Seattle was hardly catastrophic.

The team’s sweep at the hands of the Mariners sent them home with a losing record (4-5) and no burning desire to return to Safeco Field, but with little damage reflected in the standings.

When the Sox left for Atlanta on the evening of June 17, they led second-place New York by 8½ games in the American League standings. They went into yesterday’s action a full nine games ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays, now their closest competitor in the division.

Thanks to the continuing struggles of New York, the Yankees remain a safe distance back in the American League East, and despite a sub-.500 mark on the road, the Red Sox actually managed to pick up a half-game in the process.

That underscores the prevailing wisdom that the Red Sox are in this race only with themselves and that only by completely self-destructing or falling victim to an onslaught of injuries can the club fail to win the division, something they haven’t done since 1995.

It’s not merely the comfort of their lead or the team’s unassailable pitching that creates this heightened sense of security; it’s also the lack of a worthy opponent. The Blue Jays, most observers agree, deserve credit for merely being above .500 given their manpower losses. As for the Yankees, a surge several weeks ago proved short-lived and whatever momentum was gained has since been squandered by a stretch that has seen the Yanks drop seven of their last eight before last night.

The upcoming schedule brings even better news for the Red Sox, starting tonight with the arrival of the Texas Rangers, who, despite a modest two-game winning streak and seven wins in their last 10 tries, sport the American League’s worst record.

The Rangers are in town for a four-game set, to be followed by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who happen to have the A.L.’s third-worst record. A three-game trip to Detroit follows and takes the Red Sox up to the All-Star break and through the unofficial first half of the season.

When the second half resumes, the Sox return home again for an 11-game homestand and series against Toronto, Kansas City and Chicago.

Of the next six series, then, four come against teams with losing records and five are at Fenway. From the first of July through the end of the month, the Red Sox play 17 games at home and just 10 away from home. The 17 home games are the most for any month until September, when the Sox will presumably be occupied with getting their pitching rotation in order for the postseason.

The backlog of home games might help cure what ails the team’s offense, which has been spotty for much of the last month. The Sox need to win tonight and tomorrow to give themselves a winning record this month, and they have their run production or lack thereof to blame.

In their 25 games to date this month, the Red Sox have scored two runs or fewer a staggering 11 times. (Incredibly, thanks to their frequently superb pitching, they managed to win four of those low-scoring contests — two by 1-0 scores, two others by 2-1 margins).

The hot weather and home schedule could combine to jump-start the offense. So far, the Sox have hit 48 homers on the road and just 31 at Fenway Park. It’s difficult to imagine the latter won’t increase significantly in the coming weeks, given the warmer temperatures that greatly affect how well the ball carries, and the quality of the opposition.

Two of three slumping regulars have seemingly turned around their seasons. Coco Crisp is at a season-high .262 and is hitting better than .400 over the last dozen games. J.D. Drew, meanwhile, is hitting at a .324 clip over his last 20 games.

Whether Julio Lugo’s season can be salvaged, however, is another matter entirely. Lugo lugs a burdensome 0-for-31 hitless streak into tonight and its hard to believe manager Terry Francona won’t soon be playing Alex Cora at shortstop more regularly.

For the moment, though, with a favorable schedule in front of them and the rest of division far behind them, Lugo’s offensive woes are about the lone Red Sox worry.

smcadam@projo.com