Over the course of the season, Red Sox manager Alex Cora had come to trust righthander Heath Hembree as an unsuspecting extinguisher in the bullpen whenever he needed to keep a few middle-inning sparks from turning into a fire.

Hembree had been unfazed by coming in with runners on base. Of the 23 runners he had inherited this season coming into Saturday’s game, he stranded 20 of them.

“We feel that’s his role,’’ Cora said. “He’s been doing an outstanding job either in the sixth or seventh inning, getting the ball to the other guys.

“The last few outings, we’ve been asking a little bit more from him because of where we’re at with the bullpen, but he’s been great stranding runners.’’

He was called in for damage control in the sixth inning of the Red Sox’ 10-4 win over the Twins.

After getting two outs, Sox starter Rick Porcello left a runner on second for Hembree before leaving the mound.

The Sox had just taken a 5-4 lead the inning before thanks to a solo home run from J.D. Martinez.

But Porcello was having a shaky night, giving up four runs on five hits in 5⅔ innings.

Porcello started the sixth by walking Brian Dozier. With Logan Morrison at the plate, a passed ball allowed Dozier to scoot to second. Porcello got Morrison to fly out for the first out of the inning, got a visit from pitching coach Dana LeVangie, then struck out Miguel Sano.

With the switch-hitting Robbie Grossman coming to the plate, Cora did the math. Porcello had struggled with men on this season, opponents hitting .280 with four homers and nine doubles. Meanwhile, Hembree was riding a streak of 18 straight stranded runners.

“In that situation, I felt that the stuff that was coming from the bullpen, it was better than Rick,’’ Cora said. “Nothing against Rick, he was doing a good job. But I feel more comfortable bringing in Heath, especially with the way he’s been doing his job the last month-and-a-half.’’

Hembree made it 19 by getting Grossman to ground to short to end the inning.

“I realized the situation of the game — one-run game — it’s tight,’’ Hembree said. “So I just wanted so I just wanted to keep the score where it was at.’’

Hembree has embraced the idea of wiggling out of tight spots.

“I think it’s just more of a mentality of just as soon as you come in, you’ve got to be aggressive from the get-go,’’ Hembree said. “You don’t really have time to mess around and it’s an opportunity to come in and just challenge hitters from the first pitch you throw and I enjoy that. I love coming in and just first pitch coming right at a guy.’’

Hembree’s 1⅓ scoreless innings ended up being the springboard for the Sox, who stretched the lead in the sixth on an RBI single by Andrew Benintendi, then blew the game open with a four-run eighth inning.

It paved the way for the Sox’ 30th come-from-behind win of the season. The Sox are 12-4 in their last 16 games.

They jumped out to an early lead on an RBI single from Mitch Moreland. They had the bases loaded with two outs, but Eduardo Nunez grounded to first to end the inning.

The Twins got the run back quickly. Logan Morrison got ahead of Porcello, 3 and 1. Porcello went inside with a fastball and Morrison yanked deep into the seats in right field for his 13th homer of the season.

Porcello found himself in more trouble in the third, giving up a two-run triple to Jorge Polanco and an RBI single to Brian Dozier that put the Sox in a 4-1 hole.

The Sox climbed out quickly.

Jackie Bradley Jr. came to the plate in the fourth with two outs and runners on first and second and jumped on a first-pitch splitter from Twins starter Jake Odorizzi, blasting a two-run triple off the center-field wall to make it 4-3.

The knock gave Bradley 11 RBIs in his past 10 games.

Mookie Betts followed by stroking a double down the left-field line to push Bradley across for the tying run.

Martinez’s homer in the fifth pushed his major-league leading total to 32.

The Sox stretched the lead in the eighth thanks to RBI doubles from Betts and Eduardo Nunez and a bases-loaded walk by Rafael Devers.

Tyler Thornburg set down the Twins in order in the eighth for his fourth straight scoreless appearance. With a six-run cushion, Joe Kelly made his first appearance since July 24, striking out two and giving up one hit in a scoreless ninth inning.

The bullpen has been a focal point with the trading deadline approaching. Sox relievers had allowed 15 runs in 22⅓ innings since the All-Star break.

But for the 11th time this season, Hembree was asked to get more than three outs. In those games, he’s 4-0 with a 3.45 ERA.

“I like that [Cora] trusts me to give me the ball in that situation,’’ Hembree said. “I’m a guy that wants the ball, I want to pitch, so whenever I feel like I have his trust to give me the ball, I’m excited for the opportunity.’’

For Cora, it validated a common refrain whenever he’s been asked about the bullpen.

“I keep saying, we’ve got guys there,’’ Cora said. “It’s just a matter of some of them stepping up and doing their job. If they do that, then we’ll be fine.’’

Julian Benbow can be reached at jbenbow@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @julianbenbow.