So often over the past few weeks, this was the moment where everything typically fell apart.

Clinging to a two-run lead in the bottom of the seventh, the Red Sox found themselves facing a bases loaded jam with one out and the top of the Houston Astros order coming up. Greg Weissert managed to get Alex Bregman to fly out, but then manager Alex Cora went to Brennan Bernardino to face Yordan Alvarez, one of the game’s best hitters who Cora has compared favorably to Red Sox legend David Ortiz.

Surely this story wasn’t going to have a happy ending, right?

For all his and the bullpen’s recent struggles, Bernardino showed no hesitation. The lefty went right after Alvarez and struck him out on three straight pitches to escape the jam, helping the Red Sox pull out a huge 4-1 win.

Time will tell if this was a blip or a sign of a larger turnaround, but after so many poor performances since the All-Star break the bullpen has finally started settling down these past couple days.

Dating back to Tuesday the Red Sox bullpen has now thrown 8.1 straight scoreless innings, and after getting swept last weekend at Fenway Park the Red Sox responded by pulling out a huge series victory in Houston. The Red Sox also finished one of their toughest road trips of the year 4-3 and now return to Boston to face one last playoff contender in the Arizona Diamondbacks before the schedule finally loosens up a little.

For all the big games the Red Sox and Astros have played against one another these past few years, Wednesday was just the second time Boston has seen Justin Verlander since the 2020 season. The future Hall of Famer hadn’t pitched since June 9 due to a neck soreness but was activated prior to first pitch and enjoyed a solid performance in his return.

Verlander only threw 76 pitches over five innings, but he held the Red Sox to two runs on four hits while striking out six. He allowed an RBI single to Triston Casas in the first and an RBI double to Ceddanne Rafaela in the second, but after that he retired the last 10 Red Sox batters he faced.

Cooper Criswell obviously does not have Verlander’s resume, but the right-hander still held his own on a day the Red Sox needed a strong showing from its starter.

Outside of a leadoff solo home run Criswell allowed to Bregman, which tied the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the first, Criswell largely shut the Astros down. He allowed four hits and a walk, struck out four and stranded runners at second in both the third and fourth innings. He came out with two outs in the fifth inning after completing two turns through the lineup, with Cora handing the ball to Zack Kelly rather than risk Criswell facing Bregman a third time.

Kelly got the job done, and shortly afterwards Rafaela delivered his second RBI double of the day to make it 3-1. The Red Sox rookie also made several spectacular plays at shortstop defensively, with Triston Casas aiding the cause with some excellent picks at first base to help keep the Astros at bay.

Still, things got really dicey in the seventh.

Weissert allowed two singles to lead off the inning and quickly found himself dealing with men at second and third with nobody out. He got a strike out, walked a man to load the bases and drew a flyout before Cora summoned Bernardino to face Alvarez.

Bernardino sent him down, and just for a little added insurance David Hamilton smoked a solo shot to the upper deck in right field in the top of the ninth to make it 4-1.

That was plenty of breathing room for Chris Martin, who filled in for Kenley Jansen after the veteran closer pitched each of the first two games of the series. Martin sent the Astros down for a scoreless ninth for his first save of the season, polishing off one of the best all-around performances of the season by a bullpen that has been desperate for a win.