Bullpen is able to share the blame

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- There they were, lined up in perfect order for the win. It was exactly as Red Sox manager Terry Francona likely would have envisioned it: six strong innings from Jason Johnson, followed by his three mainstays, Manny Delcarmen, Mike Timlin, and Jonathan Papelbon.

Except this time, and a number of times in the recent past, the bullpen was hardly a savior for the battered rotation. It was the problem yesterday. Not the starting pitching (six innings, two runs from Johnson), not the offense (six runs on 10 hits), not the defense (Johnson's error led to an unearned run). It was the bullpen. And it was the best the Boston bullpen has.

``In my opinion, I don't think our bullpen got the job done tonight," Papelbon said after Greg Norton's walkoff home run off Julian Tavarez in the 10th inning gave Tampa Bay a 7-6 win. ``We want to be that type of bullpen that's counted on. It was a tough one for our bullpen tonight. We have an off day [today], so we'll be able to recuperate a little bit, and hopefully get some more confidence under our belt."

``We didn't finish the game," Francona said. ``Obviously."

With a 6-2 lead heading into the seventh inning -- and with Craig Hansen having pitched poorly the night before -- Francona brought in Delcarmen, who has been the key bridge to Timlin and Papelbon. After Norton opened the inning with a single, B.J. Upton followed one out later with another single. After fanning Russell Branyan, Delcarmen needed only to retire Ben Zobrist to get out of the inning.

The shortstop, who came to Tampa Bay in the Aubrey Huff deal, has had a big weekend, collecting his first major league hit against Curt Schilling Friday night and his first home run in the third inning off Johnson yesterday. He came up big again when his double knocked two runs in and Delcarmen out (on a 3-2 fastball that was supposed to be away), bringing the Devil Rays within 6-4.

Timlin relieved Delcarmen and put out the fire, but only temporarily. After closing out the seventh and getting Jorge Cantu on a ground out to start the eighth, Timlin fired a sinker that Travis Lee clubbed over the fence in right, cutting the deficit to one.

``We're not machines," Timlin said. ``We're not going to hit every spot every time. Right now it just seems when we do miss, they're hitting the ball."

And, though he maintains it has been a matter of location, Timlin has hardly been one to inspire much confidence since his stint on the disabled list. Before May 28 (the day he hit the DL with a right shoulder strain), Timlin was as good as any reliever, his 1.40 ERA, 5.6 strikeouts, and .47 home runs per nine innings impressive for anyone, let alone a 40-year old. But his ERA is up to 4.98 since he came off the DL and he's given up four home runs in his last 5 2/3 innings.

``There's nothing different now," Timlin said. ``I might be missing my spots by a baseball size maybe, and that makes a big difference here. I've got good movement. I've got pretty good location. It just seems when I do miss, they're hitting it right now. I throw a lot of strikes, so the guys are not defensive. They know I'm going to be around the zone. Maybe I should be out of the zone a little more."

Maybe. He's not sure. No one is.

``Every year since I've been here he's gone through a bad week or two," Francona said of Timlin. ``When the season's over, his ERA's low. He'll find a way to bounce back. He always does."

But with nobody pitching effectively out of the bullpen, this one seemed to be a game the Red Sox were bound to lose. Papelbon gave up the tying homer to Dioner Navarro, who, upon seeing it go out to right, made a shrugging gesture that seemed to mirror the thoughts of most of the Red Sox and their fans.

It was Navarro's fourth homer of the season -- his second as a Devil Ray. And with Norton hitting his eighth homer -- and first career walkoff -- off Tavarez in the 10th, it wasn't the ending the Sox had anticipated. But, somehow, with the bullpen's performance, it seemed inevitable.

``I just missed my spots a couple times tonight," said Delcarmen, who maintained that his pitches, and not his recent thumb injury, were to blame for his bad outing. ``We'll go out there and make mistakes. It happened that I made a couple bad pitches.

``I'm just trying to go back out there, go to Kansas City, get the ball again in the seventh or eighth, and just try to get guys out."