There was no saving Papelbon

"We're still learning," Francona said of how to work a bullpen rotation that keeps Papelbon's shoulder healthy. "There's a lot of anxiety on my part. John [Farrell, the pitching coach] and I go back and forth on every possible scenario. Like I said, it's not going to be perfect. It can't be. Things unravel sometimes quicker than you want.

"But we think it through and we try to have a game plan. And the biggest thing of all is we don't want to leave one of the premier weapons not in the game when the game is in the balance."

It was, in many ways, just like Texas.

With one out in the eighth inning, and the Sox ahead, 4-1, Papelbon entered with men on first and third and the Angels' Nos. 3 and 4 hitters lining up to face him. (Sound familiar?)

Reminiscent of his four-pitch strikeout of the Rangers' Michael Young with one out in the eighth inning Sunday, Papelbon struck out Guerrero on his fourth pitch, a 97-mile-per-hour fastball that left the Angels' best hitter swinging at air. And it took just two pitches to retire Anderson on a hard drive to Manny Ramírez.

To Papelbon's teammates, it wasn't surprising. "He don't impress me no more," deadpanned David Ortiz, before breaking out in a smile. "This guy is something else. He must be from another planet. I mean, that's him, man. He would impress me if I don't see that. But that's him."

When the score reached 6-1 in the ninth, Francona told Papelbon to put down his glove. His night was over, giving Timlin a chance for a 1-2-3 ninth inning (highlighted by an impressive catch by second baseman Dustin Pedroia in short right field for the final out).

With Tim Wakefield mastering both the knuckleball and, by extension, the Angels, and his offense giving him a rare boost in the form of four runs while he was in the game, it wasn't quite as close as Sunday, when Papelbon inherited a one-run lead to protect for Curt Schilling. But it was close.