The beat goes on.
However, it's the guy hitting that drum last that deserves his share of the credit. Jonathan Papelbon has saved four of the six wins during the staff's hot stretch, including three in a row, all on the road.
Papelbon worked around a one-out single to finish off the Angels on Friday. His last two pitches in a three-pitch strikeout of Howie Kendrick that ended the night clocked in at 96 and 95 mph, respectively.
It was the first time in his All-Star career that Papelbon had recorded saves on three straight days, yet he showed absolutely no sign of fatigue. In fact, aside from the one pitch smacked into center field by pinch hitter Hank Conger, the Boston closer looked as crisp as ever. Strike three to Kendrick was Papelbon's 55th pitch over the three-day stretch.
Without the efforts of its closer, the team's turnaround from a horrible start may not be so extreme. Some of the guys relied upon to get the ball to Papelbon have faltered, with the exception of Daniel Bard, who was unavailable Friday night. The offense continues to struggle to score on the road, making the margin for error extremely thin. The pressure on Papelbon to not waste the solid starts has been immense.
He has responded each and every time.
Papelbon now has 11 strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings. He has allowed just one run in his last 7 1/3 frames. A year after blowing a career-high eight save opportunities, he is 5-for-5.
Much was made of Papelbon's offseason in the sense that so much seemed to be happening around him. The organization reportedly bid on Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. It brought in former Chicago White Sox closer Bobby Jenks. Papelbon was apparently dangled on the trade market.
It is hard to imagine where Red Sox would be without its stopper. If Jenks was closing games and having the same results he is having right now (six runs allowed in his last 3 1/3 innings), the 6-1 stretch for Boston might never occur. If it was Bard in that role, then all the fires he has put out in earlier innings might've become significant flare-ups. Perhaps games would never even reach the closer if that was the case.
For his part, Papelbon wondered this spring why he was being written off, either by the fans or the media or both. Although he was entering his final season before free agency and seemingly had been shopped during the winter, he said he wasn't ready to call this his final season in a Red Sox uniform.
After three weeks as one of the team's most valuable members, he's as integral as ever. What that means for the future remains to be seen. Presently, Papelbon's the one making all of this great starting pitching actually translate into wins.
