Boston’s resurgent bullpen dominating in stretch run

BOSTON — Despite a 6-3 loss to the Orioles on Tuesday night, an encouraging trend continued for the Red Sox.

Remember how Boston’s bullpen had such a hard time maintaining any consistency in July and August? The story has changed in dramatic fashion thus far in September, as manager John Farrell can now turn assuredly to his relievers.

This month, the bullpen leads the Major Leagues with a 0.94 ERA, allowing three earned runs over 28 2/3 innings.

There have been various factors to the resurgence, including the return from injury of Koji Uehara, the recall of Joe Kelly from Triple-A Pawtucket and the recovery of Brad Ziegler, who was quarantined for nearly a week with the flu.

Thanks in large part to the rejuvenation of the bullpen, the Red Sox hold a two-game lead in the American League Eastover Toronto and Baltimore with 18 games left.

The one common thread with almost every team that has made a prolonged run in the postseason in recent years is a strong bullpen, which is so vital that Boston’s ‘pen is finally finding its footing.

Down, 5-0, in just the second inning after a shaky start by Drew Pomeranz, the bullpen kept the …

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