Vicente Padilla Steps Up for Red Sox in Bullpen, Pays Debt to Felix Doubront

KANSAS CITY, Mo. –– After squandering a nine-run lead against the Yankees in April, the bullpen was indebted to starter Felix Doubront. The lefty pitcher jokingly admitted as much after Monday’s game.

In the series opener against the Royals, Vicente Padilla wiped the slate clean. When Padilla relieved Doubront in the seventh inning, he induced a 4-6-3 double play to escape a bases-loaded jam.

For the first time this season, the 34-year-old earned a save as he tossed 2 2/3 frames to bail out Doubront and an exhausted bullpen.

“I was really lucky to get those two double plays,” Padilla said, laughing. “But my control was good and my velocity was consistent and where I wanted it to be.”

It continued a solid stretch for Padilla –– who pitched his longest outing since the second game of the season –– out of the bullpen. The Nicaraguan native hasn’t allowed a run in five of his last appearances for the Red Sox.

And Boston manager Bobby Valentine certainly appreciates his veteran savvy in pressure situations.

“Padilla’s double play, my God, you know, he got a save and he deserved it,” Valentine said. “He deserved a number. He deserves a statistic. He came in, gets a double play and then creates a situation where our bullpen can be almost normal.”

With the outing, Padilla lowered his ERA to 6.08.

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