Attack & Relief

The triumphant returns of Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell in an 8-1 Red Sox victory made Friday just about a perfect night. As Beckett walked off the field after five scoreless innings, the Red Sox owned a commanding lead, and the collective sigh of relief from New England may have blown one of these hurricanes back out to sea.

Looking back, it would seem any drop of urgency was miles away from the Red Sox. Not so. “Getting five out of Josh was great for what we planned on going in,” manager Terry Francona said. “But you still have to throw four innings against the team that’s got the most runs in the league.”

Though overshadowed by Beckett and Lowell, the Red Sox bullpen deserves a tip of the cap for its role last night, allowing one run in those four innings. Aside from a ninth-inning hiccup from Hideki Okajima that was meaningless to the outcome, Boston’s bullpen continued the surge that began, not coincidentally, the day the Red Sox started their current 9-2 tear.

Through Aug. 23, after the season’s first 129 games, the Red Sox bullpen carried a 3.93 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP, and it was saddled with 16 of Boston’s 52 losses.

Over the past 11 games, the bullpen has allowed six runs in 34 2/3 innings, good for a 1.56 ERA, to go with a 1.01 WHIP. Only one loss, the one Jason Giambi won with a walk-off single in New York, belonged to the bullpen.

The lynchpin last night, as he has been during the bullpen’s dazzling stretch, was Manny Delcarmen. He used 26 pitches to retire all six batters he faced, sparkling efficiency considering he struck out three Rangers.

Delcarmen has “been inconsistent at times,” Francona said, but lately he’s been one of the league's stingiest relievers. He’s pitched in seven of the 11 games during the Red Sox’ 9-2 streak – a streak Delcarmen helped spark by saving an extra-inning game in Toronto on Aug. 24. He’s allowed zero runs in 8.1 innings on just one hit and five walks over the span.

The key now for Delcarmen, Francona said, is "just repeating" his delivery. Staying fresh will be important, too. Delcarmen's 64 appearances leads the Red Sox and has already surpassed his previous career high by 14 games.

“Because of the way he’s thrown, we give him the ball a lot in close games," Francona said. "So if a guy gives up a run, it’s a little more glaring.”

But if he gives up no runs in a game when the staff ace silences concerns about his right arm, hardly anyone notices. That's life for a middle reliever, even one as essential to Boston's fortunes as Delcarmen.