NEW YORK — As a rookie manager in October of 2018, Alex Cora seemingly could do no wrong.

Every move he made seemed to be the right one. When he tried a different lineup, it worked. When he inserted starting pitchers into late-inning relief roles, they shone.

Cora’s managerial acumen was a big reason the Red Sox went 11-3 en route to a World Series championship.

Seven years later, in just his second postseason visit since then, he’s already off to a good start.

Cora constructed a lineup for Game 1 of the wild card round that wouldn’t have intimidated many opponents. Facing lefty Max Fried of the New York Yankees, Cora chose to sit lefties Wilyer Abreu and Nathaniel Lowe and instead opted for journeymen Nate Eaton and Nick Sogard, to go along with platoon regulars Romy Gonzalez and Ro

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