The Red Sox rotation represented a potentially glaring issue at the trade deadline. With Clay Buchholz’ lower back stress fracture, the Sox featured a pair of stalwarts in Jon Lester and Josh Beckett but plenty of questions behind them.

Daisuke Matsuzaka was long done for the year. John Lackey was starting to put together some solid outings but had endured a horrendous first half. Tim Wakefield had been serviceable but hardly dominant. Andrew Miller had shown signs of promise in inconsistent bursts.

By the end of July, the Sox had a 4.11 ERA that was worse than average in the AL. It wasn’t necessarily a fatal weakness, but the potential lack of starting depth represented enough of a risk to the team’s October ambitions that the Sox felt they had to do everything in their power to make at least one move – and perhaps more – to bolster their rotation at the July 31 deadline for non-waiver trades.

The Sox sought the sort of pitchers with dominant, swing-and-miss stuff who could make the rotation more than two deep for the postseason. While a July 30 deal with Rich Harden and the A’s fell through, the Sox snuck just under the 4 pm EST deadline to complete a pair of deals, the net effect of which was the acquisition of left-hander Erik Bedard.

Four weeks later, the Sox rotation has a different shape. In part due to the acquisition of Bedard, the rotation has enjoyed a far more impressive stature.

In the first 27 games of August, despite the fact that the offense endured one of its lengthier slumps of the year, the starting pitching permitted the team at least a chance to win almost every night.

In a month when rotations typically hit a wall, Sox starters have a 3.87 ERA in August, a mark that ranked second in the American League entering Sunday, behind only a Rays staff that had a ridiculous 2.99 mark.

The starting staff had 7.3 strikeouts per nine innings, fourth in the AL. Its combined WHIP of 1.29 ranked fifth among AL teams.

Consistency has been the hallmark of the rotation in August. Only once all month has a Sox starter allowed more than five runs in a game all month (Tim Wakefield’s eight-run yield on Friday). The team has made 12 quality starts, a number that is tied for fifth in the AL, but there have been four additional starts (three by Bedard, one by Miller) in which either pitch counts or weather cut short an outing before it could qualify for the designation.

More significantly, the rotation looks better built for the postseason than it did a month ago. Lester (3-2 with a 2.78 ERA in August) continues to perform like one of the best pitchers in the game. Beckett (2-1, 3.60 ERA, 26 strikeouts and 5 walks in 30 innings) has continued to look like a front-of-the-rotation starter who will anchor the Sox’ postseason rotation hopes with Lester.

But it is the rest of the rotation that has looked different in important respects.

Lackey has continued to show the sort of power stuff that was rarely in evidence during the first half. While his 5.34 August ERA does not suggest a significant improvement over his first half performance, he has punched out 7.0 batters per nine innings and walked just 2.8.

In a broader context, that represents the continuation of an impressive turnaround for what had seemed like a lost season. Over his last nine starts, Lackey is now 7-1 with a 4.11 ERA, 7.3 strikeouts and 2.1 walks per nine innings.

But the difference has been more than statistical. Whereas Lackey was living in the high-80s and low-90s for the first half and his breaking stuff lacked bit, he has shown more of a power arsenal since early July. His fastball is regularly checking in at 93-94 mph, he’s shown a swing-and-miss breaking ball and a cutter that has played as a weapon.

Rays manager Joe Maddon, who was a member of the Angels’ coaching staff for Lackey’s first four big league seasons, suggested that there was an apparent difference in the pitcher’s stuff when he faced the Rays this month.

“[Lackey had] probably the best fastball I’ve seen him have in a while since I’ve seen him back here,” said Maddon. “It was more reminiscent of his days with the Angels, the fastball with the hard cutter.”

Bedard, meanwhile, remains winless with the Red Sox, having been denied a victory most recently on Saturday night by an hour-long rain delay that arrived after Bedard had tossed four shutout innings.

“You’re just trying to pray to God that the rain stays away so you can finish at least three more outs and have a decision. We won the game. The bottom line is we won the game,” said Bedard. “You always want wins. But as long as the team wins, that’s the good part. It’s coming. Eventually, I’ll get one.”

Bedard’s confidence seems like more than bravado given his performance. He has a 3.46 ERA and has struck out 26 batters in as many innings while walking nine.

For the most part, he’s shown a low-90s fastball, a terrific curveball that he can throw for strikes at will and a changeup that can expand the plate against right-handed hitters.

That said, it was notable on Saturday that Bedard started the game pitching at 86-88 mph. Both the pitcher and manager Terry Francona suggested that the left-hander, who missed almost all of July with a knee strain, was dealing with soreness in the same joint in the early innings, a fact that, combined with caution while pitching on a wet mound, resulted in the decreased velocity.

Yet while that will be worth monitoring, there were two notable corresponding developments. First, he ended up picking up his fastball to his customary low-90s velocity as the game progressed. Secondly, even before he regained his velocity and fastball command, Bedard found a way to get outs.

That, in turn, suggests an ability to work through adversity and be a reliable contributor even when not armed with his best stuff. While he has yet to pitch more than six innings in any of his five Sox starts, the Sox believe that Bedard has shown plenty of promise in his first month since joining them.

“I’ve faced him. I’ve seen him pitch. He’s good,” said catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. “That curveball, he can throw it for a strike when he wants. He’s got a fastball. He’s deceptive. If he’s healthy, he’s good.”

That, at least, is the initial impression they’ve gotten from the left-hander, resulting in a degree of comfort with the rotation for the Sox that may not have existed in the days entering the trade deadline.

In fairness, neither Bedard nor Lackey has performed at a level that has suggested dominance in August. But both have pitched respectably, and shown the sort of stuff that would permit the Sox to entrust them with postseason starts without reluctance. In its own right, that represents a significant shift from where the Sox stood a month ago, when they felt like standing pat at the deadline was not an acceptable option.