BOSTON — The Red Sox weren’t sure what they were going to get from young starter Kyle Harrison Friday night. But clearly, they were hoping for more than they got.

The lefty recorded just nine outs and had trouble with his control, issuing three walks. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, but when the first five Detroit Tigers he faced in the fourth all reached, resulting in three runs scoring, manager Alex Cora wasn’t about to show the same patience.

With the bases loaded and no outs, Cora decided to go to his bullpen. It proved to be exactly what the team needed.

“We had to. We had to,” said Cora of his strategy to go to the bullpen early. “It didn’t feel great because there’s a game (Saturday) and a game Sunday. I was telling (pitching coach Andrew Bailey), ‘This feels….argh.’ But we had to do it, right? Understanding that we had some guys who could go multiple innings if it got out of hand.

“It was getting out of hand (behind 3-0 with the bases loaded and no out). Was it perfect? No. But it worked out.”

Justin Slaten got two outs before Cora opted for lefty Steven Matz, who got the final out as the Tigers stranded three.

It was the start of a conga line of relievers – six in all — who were equally efficient. The group of Slated, Matz, Greg Weissert, Zack Kelly, Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman combined for six shutout innings, buying time for the Red Sox’ lineup to map out a comeback.

Whitlock was particularly dominant, striking out the side on 16 pitches in the eighth before his teammates tied the game in the bottom of the inning.

Whitlock is the lone pitcher on the staff who was part of the last playoff team, so it was perhaps fitting that, on this night, he was the most effective arm the Sox had.

“Around this time last year,” recalled Cora, “he came into (my office) and told me, ‘I want to be a reliever; I want to be a leader of the team.’ I said, ‘OK, you’ll be a leader on the team.’ It feels good. I’m very proud of him. The season didn’t start the way he wanted and the way he’s throwing the ball right now, he’s one of the best relievers in the big leagues.”

In all, Red Sox relievers allowed just three hits over the final six frames while striking out six and walking just one.

Meanwhile, the Sox scored once each in the fourth, seventh and eighth before notching the winning run in the bottom of the ninth for a 4-3 win and a guaranteed spot in the playoffs.

Cora felt he couldn’t run the risk of waiting until Saturday or Sunday to get the Red Sox the one win they needed.

“It was important (to wrap it up tonight),” he said, “to take care of some guys. The pitching staff, we have to make sure we’re on point going into next week, understanding that we have no idea what’s going to happen.

“But the most important thing is, we’re in. We’ll celebrate tonight and we’ll see where we’re at tomorrow.”

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