Heated finish for Papelbon

When the doors swung open in the Red Sox bullpen, 37,008 Fenway Faithful glimpsed a welcome sight: a well-rested Jonathan Papelbon, nostrils flared, ready to come into the ninth inning of a one-run game.

It was the type of textbook save situation manager Terry Francona had envisioned when he persuaded his closer that it would be for the greater good if he got an occasional breather.

"It's been a tough grind for Tito to want to get me in ballgames lately," Papelbon said. "It's weird because it's like this guy knows the future or something, man. He's like, 'OK, we're going to sit you down today because we're going to need you tomorrow.'

"It's a great thing because I've got a feeling we're going to be together in this clubhouse for a long time, hopefully. And he's got an uncanny ability to know the game and know when to use hitters and not to use hitters, and relief pitchers and everything that goes into that.

"I think he's done a great job and I know a lot of people have been on him on how to use me. In my opinion, I think he's done a great job with me this year. I know he would love to get me in more ballgames, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. We've just got to look down the road and stay healthy and look to get back to where we were in '04."

Last night, Francona's patience paid off in a 2-1 victory over the Rockies, as Papelbon notched his 15th save in 16 opportunities. Papelbon used a live fastball to retire the side in order, with strikeouts of Kaz Matsui and Todd Helton sandwiching a fly to right by Matt Holliday.

Papelbon seemed to give the Sox something of an unfair advantage, considering that the Rockies had never faced him.

"Yeah, [but] there's plenty of video out there, bro," Papelbon said. "So you can't really use that one, so to speak. Believe me, hitters do their homework and we do ours as well. So what goes around comes around."

Papelbon preserved the win for Tim Wakefield, who felt eminently comfortable turning the game over to the second-year righthander because "he's a pretty special guy."

That much had to be evident to the Rockies, who watched Papelbon fire away at 96-97 miles per hour. It marked the first time since May 25-26 that he posted back-to-back scoreless innings; he set down the Diamondbacks in the 10th to nail down a 4-3 win Saturday.

Asked if this was his best velocity of the season, Papelbon shrugged.

"I don't know," he said. "I don't even really know what I'm throwing out there. I just know that the ball is coming out of my hand good. It felt better than it has in a few weeks now."

It looked even better, according to Francona.

"I thought he was very good," the manager said. "He was right on line and the ball was crisp coming out of his hand. He was commanding. And I don't think following Wake hurt, either, but he was very crisp."

That was largely because of the manager's judicious use of his closer.

"In this grind that we went on the last week and a half, Tito's been really, really smart about it," Papelbon said. "That says a lot about him as a manager and knowing when and when not to use me.

"Obviously, I'd love to get out there and pitch every day if my body would let me. I would love to get out there and play every day, but I've got Tito to say, 'Hey, Pap, you've got to take it easy today.'

"So it's starting to come along and I'm starting to get more reps and feel better out there."

Michael Vega can be reached at vega@globe.com.