Boston Red Sox Manager Alex Cora has made all the right moves.

Some have been obvious, like when he put Brock Holt in the lineup for the first time this postseason for Game 3 of the American League Division Series in New York. Holt responded in a big way, becoming the first player in major league history to hit for the cycle in a playoff game. Or when he had Christian Vazquez catch Rick Porcello in Game 4. It was the first time Vazquez was behind the plate for Porcello this season, and the catcher stepped up with his first playoff home run.

Others have gone under the radar. Cora replaced the injured Steven Wright on the playoff roster with struggling reliever Heath Hembree, and then got Hembree a chance to pitch with a massive lead in Game 3. Hembree answered the call with a 1-2-3 eighth inning in Yankee Stadium, keeping the vaunted Bronx Bombers from building any confidence going into Game 4.

Of course, Cora’s best moves came last October. He was bench coach of the Houston Astros – a team that rolled to an impressive championship. As Houston was facing the Yankees in the AL Championship Series, Cora was interviewing for the Red Sox job. It wasn’t easy juggling playoff games and job interviews.

On Oct. 17, the Yankees scored four runs in the eighth inning against Houston to win Game 4 and even the series at two wins apiece. There were postgame meetings to deal with as he and Manager A.J. Hinch tried to figure out how to rebuild a bullpen that had been struggling. As soon as Cora was finished with the meeting, he had to shoot across town to meet Red Sox owner John Henry and discuss the opportunity to become manager in Boston.

Cora said all the right things then. He’s making all the right decisions now.

All of which leads us to a playoff rematch between the Red Sox and Astros. Game 1 of the ALCS is at Fenway on Saturday night. A year ago Houston won 3 of 4 against Boston in the first step to the title. They did that with Cora on the bench.

Now, Hinch will try to lead his team to victory against a manager who knows both teams.

“I’ve been talking about them the whole season, so now we go,” Cora said outside a champagne-soaked clubhouse at Yankee Stadium following a 4-3 win Tuesday in Game 4 of the ALDS. “Best of seven. They know me. I know them.”

Henry didn’t need to see the Astros beat the Yankees last October to realize Cora was the right man for the job. He made his decision long before Houston celebrated a championship. That experience – beating the Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series – was crucial in making Cora a successful manager in 2018.

“I’ve said that without that year coaching, no way I’d feel this comfortable this year,” Cora said Tuesday. “It was such a great learning experience, from spring training all the way to L.A. It was constant learning.”

This season Cora put a photo from each win on the wall of his office at Fenway. It was meant as a reminder that each victory is special. Something to be savored. One hundred and eight regular-season wins later, he was out of office space.

So the Red Sox moved the “win wall” out into the concourse at Fenway. And they added a twist: there are 11 empty frames on that wall, representing the 11 playoff wins the Red Sox need to bring home a fourth championship in 15 seasons.

Three frames have been filled with victories over the Yankees. The next four will be tougher. The Astros are a complete team, a defending champ that added a top-flight starting pitcher in Gerrit Cole and two lock-down relievers in Roberto Osuna and Ryan Pressly.

Cora knows just how good the Astros are. He helped mold them into the team they’ve become. And they helped mold him into a manager looking to end their dreams of repeating as champs.

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