It’s Terry Francona’s pitching staff, but Jonathan Papelbon has some Red Sox fans fretting
This seemed like a perfect time to save Jonathan Papelbon, who has now pitched in back-to-back games and may not be available Monday, when the Red Sox are at Tampa Bay with first place at stake.
Jon Lester had thrown 103 pitches, only six in the eighth, and was cruising. If not Lester, maybe Justin Masterson could protect a three-run lead against Toronto.
But no, Pap is Pap, he had already warmed up, and this was a save situation. The closer was promptly rocked for three straight hits, and only a bad umpiring call and two fine defensive plays let him escape with a 4-3 victory.
Winning cures all, even the truth. The Red Sox overlooked the obvious, which was that Papelbon’s 38th save was his cheapest.
“They can hit,” Jason Varitek says of the Jays. “But Pap did enough.”
Uh, no, he did not. Papelbon is still a premier closer, but this rough outing came five days after he had turned a one-run lead against Tampa Bay into a one-run loss, costing the Red Sox first place.
masslive.com
9/14/08
Magnolia Tribune
