After Rays, razor sharp

MINNEAPOLIS -- Giving up two earned runs on three hits in one inning against the Devil Rays -- no matter what their offensive statistics say this season -- seems to bode ill when the next time you work, the key batters are a sizzling Alex Cora, plus the demanding duo of David Ortiz and Manny Ramírez.

And that was the situation in which Twins closer Joe Nathan found himself last night over the final two innings of a tight game: with runners on against all three, a Johan Santana victory on the line, the biggest crowd since Opening Day, and a questionable performance in his last outing. Good thing he had a couple of positives -- sharper fastball location and a little bit of history.

What immediately resulted was a foul off the facade of the upper deck from Cora, a nerve-rattling shot for anyone. But what eventually resulted, four outs to put away the Red Sox for a 2-1 win and Nathan's eighth save of the season, was enough to send any closer's self-assurance up a notch.

"A lot of it's in your head, between your ears, getting on that right mental state of mind when you're out there," Nathan said. "I just felt like I was throwing strikes, especially to the guys at the end. Had a good feeling out there. I was confident I had all three pitches working and, you know, was able to keep them guessing."

Though Cora's at-bat -- which resulted in a fly out to left field to end the eighth -- included Jason Varitek on second base and Coco Crisp on first (as a pinch runner for Eric Hinske, who had hit for Wily Mo Peña), it was hardly the one Nathan pointed to after it was over. The keys for him would be the at-bats in the ninth by the Sox' intimidating 3-4 batters, even though Ortiz and Ramírez hadn't exactly had the upper hand in their previous matchups.

Ortiz: 1 for 4, 1 strikeout.

Ramírez: 0 for 5, 4 strikeouts.

And, yet, in those situations, the past is hardly enough to stop the nerves.

"Facing those guys in a one-run lead is never easy," Nathan said. "I think they definitely raise the level of their game and get you to probably a level that you probably can't get to without that little adrenaline rush and that little push that they can only give you."

But with one out and Kevin Youkilis on first base, Ortiz sent a line drive to a well-stationed Torii Hunter in center field. And Ramírez struck out swinging on a 94-mile-per-hour offering to end the game.

Using fastballs to set up his breaking pitches, the ones that had been particularly shaky against Tampa Bay Wednesday, Nathan solved the four players he needed to. It was the first time since last September that manager Ron Gardenhire had called upon his closer to get more than three outs for a save.

"These guys are an outstanding fastball-hitting team," Nathan said. "Saying I was just going to go out there and use my fastball, that's definitely not what I had in mind. It's really just about when I get out there, see what's going on, see how my fastball is, see how the command is, go from there.

"Today I just felt like I had pretty good late life on it, for the most part was able to keep it out of the same spot and locate it pretty well. I was changing their eye level pretty good, working up and down, in and out."

Extricating himself from the eighth-inning jam created by Pat Neshek, and retiring a pair of sluggers in the ninth, Nathan got the bounce back he (and his team) were hoping for, and one that lowered his ERA to 3.07.

Santana's reaction: "It was all about the bullpen tonight."

He was right. After five uninspired innings in which he threw 98 pitches, Santana departed, leaving the game in the hands of a procession of relievers, from Matt Guerrier to Jesse Crain to Neshek to Nathan.

"Used his fastball to set up everything else," Gardenhire said. "That was a big outing. It was nice for him. We have all the confidence in the world, no matter what he's doing. When he's got the ball in his hand, we always think we have a pretty good chance."

Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com.