Skid stops with slide
Papelbon adjusts attitude, outcome
MINNEAPOLIS - It took Jonathan Papelbon all of 20 pitches to get back on track. And nearly a quarter of those were sliders.
Whichever pitches Papelbon threw, though, it was a key inning for the closer, coming just one night after he had blown his second straight save and recorded his second straight loss.
After that game, he said he needed to work on finishing his pitches. And, after some work with pitching coach John Farrell, Papelbon seemed to think he had worked things out.
"That's the split that I want, that's the fastball that I need, and I was able to go out there and throw five or six sliders tonight, which all I felt were the way I needed to throw them," he said. "I feel like I made the adjustments and now I need to go out there and stay right there.
"When you go out, you get on a run, you have good outings after good outings, you tend to try to go out there and have a better outing than your last one, when all you need to do is just stay right where you're at. Any hitter or pitcher has that tendency.
"I think that's what happened to me. I was trying to throw splits and fastballs that were better than what I've been doing. Well, I just need to really stick with what I've been doing. It works."
After recording no strikeouts in his last four outings, Papelbon struck out Jason Kubel swinging on a 91-mile-per-hour fastball, then ended the 5-2 victory with another strikeout swinging, that one by Craig Monroe.
Much of the work Papelbon did yesterday with Farrell was on lower body mechanics. As he said, "Basically just keeping my lower body over the rubber and getting my arm out in order to deliver the pitch. Staying behind the baseball and not cutting myself off and cutting off velocity and life and everything else."
And, at the same time, getting his 11th save of the season.
"Mentally and physically I prepared myself to make the adjustment, one, and secondly, I went out there and trusted it and executed it," Papelbon said. "That was the difference."
Purpose pitch
Just before Daisuke Matsuzaka struck out Joe Mauer in the third inning, the Sox starter had a pitch slip out of his hand. Might have been a slippery ball - or perhaps it was deception, as Jason Varitek joked. Or something else.
"That's the gyroball you guys have all been waiting for," manager Terry Francona said. "It finally emerged."
Francona was less pleased with the ball from Mike Lamb that hit a wire at the top of the Metrodome for a single in the ninth inning off Papelbon. "I can't wait till they get into their new ballpark," Francona said. "If they need someone to help them with this one, I'll be the one.
"Sometimes this roof gets in the way of baseball."
The win was the Sox' first in a dome since their first game of the season, in Tokyo. They had lost eight straight since.
Lugo clears head
When Julio Lugo woke up yesterday, he felt dizzy. He went back to sleep, then got up later, but he didn't feel any better.
In the sixth inning Friday, Lugo was running from first on Jacoby Ellsbury's grounder when he was kicked in the head by the Twins' Matt Tolbert at second base.
When he got to the ballpark, Lugo was checked by the team's medical staff, who determined he had a mild concussion.
"I know I got hit, I just didn't want to lay there [Friday]," said Lugo, who said he never had a concussion before. "I went to the bench, I was dizzy. It went away, so I went back in there."
Spirit of the day
Even though he'll be in the bullpen, Varitek will be doing something for Mother's Day. Varitek will wear pink catcher's gear today, a new face mask, shin guards, and chest protector. All of the items will be auctioned off on redsox.com to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Other players will be using pink bats today.
Rehab continues
Curt Schilling threw from 60 feet again yesterday, about "40-ish" tosses. He said there's a chance that he'll progress to throwing at a slightly longer distance tomorrow. "There's been no period of time during this where there's a setup goal and potentially fail," Schilling said. "We're just taking it as it comes." Schilling said he keeps trying to cheat his way to more throws - every time Farrell says two more, Schilling does those, then offers five more . . . Bartolo Colon started in the first game of the PawSox' doubleheader yesterday against Norfolk. Colon threw 49 pitches (36 strikes) in the first three innings of the PawSox' 4-2 win, allowing one earned run on four hits. He also struck out two. The PawSox won the nightcap by the identical 4-2 score . . . J.D. Drew had a scheduled day off yesterday, with Ellsbury filling in for him in right field . . . Matsuzaka became the first Red Sox pitcher since Matt Clement in 2005 to start the season 6-0. Fourteen Sox pitchers have started at least 6-0 in a season . . . The four home runs hit by the Red Sox were a season high . . . Kevin Youkilis's solo home run in the second inning was his sixth home run in the last seven games . . . Hideki Okajima, who threw two innings Friday, has now worked 9 2/3 scoreless innings over eight games. Francona made a point of praising him. 