Bullpen adds finishing touch

Manager Terry Francona did not want Papelbon to endure more than one inning. When the ninth inning arrived, though, it was Papelbon's time. "He's in the game," Francona said. "Whether he's throwing up" or not.

By the time Papelbon fist-bumped the security guard in front of the bullpen and ran to the mound, Hideki Okajima had preserved the one-run lead he inherited from Ramon Ramirez, who had an uncharacteristically rocky night. Ramirez allowed consecutive home runs to lead off the seventh, shrinking a three-run cushion to one.

Ramirez, perhaps the best middle reliever in the American League this season, had faltered. But with the Sox bullpen, "there's never a panic," left fielder Jason Bay said. "There's always somebody who can do it."

Last night, that was Okajima, who struck out Hideki Matsui, Derek Jeter, and Johnny Damon while recording four crucial outs and protecting a one-run lead. He handed off to Papelbon, who labored through the ninth and saved his 15th game in 16 chances. When it came time to record the game's most important outs of the 6-5 victory over the New York Yankees, the Sox bullpen delivered again.

"That's what we pride ourselves on," Papelbon said. "We feed off each other. We like to take over the ballgame. The starter hands us the ball, and it's our game. That's our main objective, to take over the ballgame."

The Sox bullpen has been the team's "saving grace," Bay said, but Ramirez nearly squandered a comfortable lead. He replaced Tim Wakefield after six innings and promptly gave up solo homers to the first two batters he faced, Damon and Mark Teixeira.

"He left a couple balls up over the middle," Francona said. "And they hit them a long way."

Ramirez settled down and got the next two outs, bringing Matsui to the plate. In Japan, Okajima and Matsui played together for the Yomiuri Giants. In America, Matsui was 2 for 7 with a walk against Okajima.

"It doesn't matter who the hitter is," Okajima said through a translator. "I just go at him and try to take the hitter out."

Okajima started with a curveball, threw pinpoint fastballs over the outside corner, then came inside with a fastball that Matsui swung through.

Okajima walked Nick Swisher to lead off the eighth, but reverted to the control he showed against Matsui. With Jeter coming up, Okajima could have been replaced by a righthander. "I wanted to show what I could do," Okajima said. Jeter struck out swinging at a slider in the dirt, and Damon struck out swinging.

"By far, no questions asked, Hideki was our star of the game," Papelbon said. "He came in and basically took over the game. That's the reason we won the game right there."

But Papelbon closed it out, and he needed time. Still feeling the effects of food poisoning, Papelbon breathed heavily on the mound and waited extra long between pitches.

"I'm sure I got a handful of pace-of-game violations," Papelbon said.

The first batter he faced was Teixeira, who came to the plate 4 for 4 with two doubles and a home run. Getting the first out "is probably one of my most important things," Papelbon said, and Teixeira grounded to first.

Papelbon walked Alex Rodriguez, who was replaced by Ramiro Pena on the bases. Pena stole second with Robinson Cano batting. Papelbon would blow away Cano with a high, 96-mile-per-hour fastball, proving the illness had not drained him of his best pitches. Jorge Posada hit a high fly to the warning track in left that fell into Bay's glove.

The Sox bullpen, even on a night when one of its best pitchers foundered, had shut down another opponent. Bay said it's tempting to take them for granted, that a lead in the sixth inning virtually means a victory. Red Sox relievers entered the game with a collective 2.72 ERA, by far the best in baseball, and they delivered again.

"We're pretty fortunate," Francona said. "Those are not easy outs to get."

Adam Kilgore can be reached at akilgore@globe.com