Handyman Tavarez was good to go

Little or nothing rattles Red Sox pitcher Julian Tavarez. Postponement because of rain? Nah. Being moved from the bullpen, where he has spent most of his career, to the starting rotation? Definitely not.

Manager Terry Francona said everything he has asked Tavarez to do has been met with a nod in the affirmative. Yesterday, in the first game of a doubleheader against the Tigers at Fenway Park, Tavarez lasted seven innings and gave up one run in Boston's 2-1 victory. He threw 104 pitches, 60 of which were strikes, gave up four hits, and struck out three. The only glitch was that he walked four batters, but only one -- Craig Monroe in the fifth -- scored. He wasn't flustered after having his turn delayed a day by Wednesday's rainout.

"We'll take seven," said Francona, "and the way he did it. A couple of times, he pitched himself into a bind by getting ahead of a hitter and then walking [him]. It's so nice to see him being able to dial up making a pitch after doing that. You see the way an inning is going. So many times, when you walk people to get to that situation, you make a bad pitch, and all of a sudden, it's a multi-run inning. Then he gathered himself and was really good for the sixth and seventh innings."

Francona said two qualities that make Tavarez a joy are his positive attitude and willingness to do whatever it takes to help.

"It's part of the reason he's in the role he is," said the manager. "It increases his value. He just likes to pitch. He's really appreciative of his starts or his relief appearances and being able to pitch in the major leagues. It's very refreshing when you talk to him."

Tavarez, who improved to 2-4, said baseball has been paramount for him since he was a child. He has learned not to take anything for granted.

"To me, baseball is the No. 1 thing in my life besides my two kids," said the veteran righthander. "I always put baseball first. I do appreciate day after day having this uniform. A lot of guys would give everything they have just to be in the major leagues for at least one day. I grew up playing ball. I never went to school in my life, not even one day. The only thing I did was play ball in the street. That's the only thing I know how to do. To me, everything is mental. My mind is always ready for anything. To me, nothing bothers me. I'm always like, 'I'm ready.' I'm ready to play ball. It doesn't matter if it's 3 in the morning."

Tavarez credited catcher Doug Mirabelli with helping him prepare.

"He came to me [Wednesday] and told me, 'Remember last year, what we did in Toronto, we attacked the hitters and we worked really fast,' " said Tavarez. "[He said] 'I want you to do the same thing. Challenge those guys with a lot of sinking fastballs. Get a quick out, less pitches, and you'll be effective.' Mirabelli, he was a big part of it today."

If Tavarez is unflappable about nearly everything baseball, there is one thing that bothers him -- when teammate Manny Ramírez rubs the top of his head, which he did in the dugout last week.

"Manny's always been a guy who is like 12 years old whenever he feels like it," said Tavarez, who has known Ramírez for 15 years. "I told him, 'Listen, we are on TV, so stop playing around.' I told him to stop rubbing my head. He knows I fall asleep easily when somebody does that to my head, but he [kept] doing it. Manny's a great guy and a great player."

Nancy Marrapese-Burrell can be reached at Marrapese@globe.com.