Boston Red Sox Swing It around After Bullpen Meltdown

After Tuesday night's complete bullpen meltdown by Justin Masterson, Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima, and Takashi Saito, the Boston Red Sox brushed it aside and got right back to business this afternoon, as they gave the Baltimore Orioles a little dose of payback in a 6-5 11-inning win at Camden Yards.

There was an unexpected unsung hero in the top of the 11th, as Julio Lugo drove in Jacoby Ellsbury after his line drive double that barely hit the left field chalk made the score 6-5.

Jonathan Papelbon closed the deal and secured his 133th career save, becoming the new all-time leader in Red Sox history by passing Bob Stanley (132).

Ramon Ramirez got the win and is now 5-2 with a 1.80 ERA.

The Red Sox pitching staff decided to switch roles on Wednesday, as Josh Beckett wasn't his dominant self. He gave up five runs (two home runs) in seven innings, but the bullpen shined and retired the last 24 batters of the game. 

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Boston dished it to the Orioles' pen by scoring four times thanks to a two-run shot by Kevin Youkilis off Jim Johnson. Baltimore's closer, George Sherrill, tried to stop the bleeding, but he gave up two more runs and was charged with the blown save.

It was a dramatic turn of events after Boston blew a nine-run lead Tuesday after a rain delay that lasted over an hour closed John Smoltz's outing after only four innings of work.