Two weeks ago, Boston Red Sox Manager John Farrell made the unusual decision to temporarily shift to a six-man rotation. The team was in the midst of a 20-day stretch without a scheduled day off, and the belief was each of the starting pitchers could use an extra day’s rest.

It was also a way to get Eduardo Rodriguez into the mix. By becoming the sixth man in the rotation, Rodriguez easily could have returned to Pawtucket if he struggled against big-league hitters.

But instead of struggling, he’s dominated. He’ll take the mound in Baltimore on Tuesday night with a 0.61 ERA in two winning starts with the Sox. He has been the best thing to happen to this team in a disappointing 2015 season.

He has also earned the right to stay in the rotation. That left either Steven Wright or Joe Kelly as the odd man out once Boston returns to a five-man rotation starting with the series in Baltimore.

Kelly won the competition with his performance over the last two starts, giving up two earned runs in 11 innings. Saturday’s win was his first since his first start of the year, and his first win at Fenway Park since September.

That’s why Wright is pitching out of the bullpen once again. Two of Wright’s three wins (only Wade Miley and Rick Porcello have won more games for Boston) have come in relief – in two of Boston’s most exciting victories of the season.

On April 10, Wright came in to start the 15th inning at Yankee Stadium with the score tied, 3-3. He held New York to two runs over five innings as the Sox won in 19 innings, 6-5.

On Sunday, hours after being told he was being sent to the bullpen, he was back at it. Called in to relieve the struggling Clay Buchholz, Wright entered the game trailing 4-0 with men on second and third and two outs. He got out of the jam and went on to pitch 31/3 scoreless innings before the Sox erupted for seven runs in the eighth inning.

“(Don’t) let the eighth inning take away from the work Steven did today,” Farrell said after the game. “It was an outstanding relief effort on his part.”

Watching Wright come into a game is a little unusual. He carries his own catcher’s mitt, an oversized one that makes it easier to catch his floating knuckleball.

It works. And Wright, at 30 years old, is willing to do whatever works to stay in the majors.

“As Jim Rice said the other day, ‘As long as I’m on the plane and not on a bus, I’m happy,’ ” Wright said.

With performances like Sunday he’ll be avoiding those minor-league bus rides for a while.

“That was a momentum builder for us,” Farrell said of the game. “There’s no doubt.”

We’ll see. There have been plenty of doubters in Red Sox Nation as the Sox hit June in last place.

Now, with the next six games against AL East opponents, they’ve got a chance to make a move in the standings. They haven’t won four games in a row all season, something they can accomplish Tuesday night in Baltimore.

A winning streak, even a modest one, is always a good place to start.

Tom Caron is the studio host for the Red Sox broadcast on NESN. His column appears in the Portland Press Herald on Tuesdays.

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