A sense of relief for Francona

On a night when the manager introduced himself to the starting pitcher at 4 p.m., and when that pitcher entered the game with a 22.50 ERA, you need to have faith in your bullpen.

Last night, Terry Francona had no option but to believe in the (often) unseen stability coming from his middle relievers. But what started with a surprisingly strong five innings from Kyle Snyder finished with a solid four innings from four pitchers out of the Red Sox bullpen: Jermaine Van Buren in the sixth, Javier Lopez in the seventh, Rudy Seanez in the eighth, and Mike Timlin finishing up the 6-3 win over Washington in the ninth.

Van Buren, who was sent down to Triple A Pawtucket after the game to clear a spot for Craig Hansen, started by giving up a double to Jose Vidro. He then struck out Jose Guillen looking and walked Daryle Ward before getting Ryan Zimmerman to ground into a 6-4-3 double play.

Despite Van Buren's strong inning, Francona said the situation is one the reliever will probably have to get used to this year.

``I told Jermaine, `You pitched in the game tonight; we have confidence you can pitch here,' " Francona said. ``He's kind of on that shuttle [Kevin] Youkilis was on last year. I think we would all like to have him here, and I am confident that he will be back and will help us. We just need to make a roster move."

After the game, Van Buren said being sent down after a good night was better than being moved after a poor outing. He was upbeat as he packed his bags and said the trip to Pawtucket was ``no big deal." In response to Francona's comparison to Youkilis in the past, Van Buren said, ``Look at Youkilis now."

Lopez, who walked the only batter he faced Sunday in Atlanta, was able to pitch a complete inning, getting all three batters he faced to ground out. Pitching a complete inning, rather than coming in for one batter, gave Lopez a chance to repeat his mechanics.

Next up was Seanez, who was greeted with some boos for giving up a three-run homer to Jeff Francoeur Sunday night in Atlanta. Seanez, who said he was aware of his shaky reception but added that it wasn't his job to care what the fans think, gave up a single to start the eighth, got his first out on a fielder's choice, struck out the next two batters swinging -- and walked off the mound to a screaming crowd -- this time without the boos.

Finally, Timlin came in and finished it off -- giving up a single, but getting the next batter to ground into a 5-4-3 double play. It was a night the bullpen needed, something Seanez acknowledged.

``Especially after [Sunday] night, being able to come back like this and everybody to have a clean inning, I think that helps our confidence as well just teamwise," Seanez said. ``You know, [Sunday] night was kind of a cluster, but that's going to happen. That's the way baseball goes. But tonight was good, a good confidence-builder all around."

All four relievers left with lower ERAs than they came in with: Van Buren dropped to 8.71, Lopez to 3.86, Seanez to 4.34, and Timlin to 1.96. In the four innings, the relievers allowed just three hits.

Francona praised his relievers, summing up their performances, along with Snyder's, as ``extremely rewarding."