"The announcers said at the end, 'Have fun following that one, Justin,' " Masterson said. "I was so proud of Jon, I consider him a good friend, so there was just so many things going through my mind - perfect game, back-to-back no-hitters.
"Of course, those were gone in the first inning."
Alex Gordon's two-out double in the first took Masterson out of the realm of fantasyland. But the Royals did little to disrupt this assembly line of impressive pitchers that evidently is housed in an unmarked warehouse somewhere in New England, given the way the Sox keep churning them out while other teams go begging.
Masterson, who held the Angels to two hits and a run in his first start April 24, held the Royals to three hits and a run in 6 1/3 innings last night. All three hits were by Gordon, two doubles sandwiched around a single. The run came in the seventh, when Masterson walked Mark Teahen, who came around to score on an infield out and a single off reliever Manny Delcarmen that eluded the short-armed reach of a diving Julio Lugo.
"I felt really good in both of these," Masterson said. "I actually felt better today than in the last one. Today, a little bit, things were going my way."
The suspense came in the eighth, when Papelbon rescued Hideki Okajima from a bases-loaded jam of his own making, one in which he gave up a leadoff double to David DeJesus and walked Gordon and Teahen, both on full counts, pitching carefully rather than giving in, armed with the knowledge that Papelbon was primed to enter.
Papelbon struck out Billy Butler on a slider to end the eighth, which he celebrated with typical fist-pumping exuberance, then whiffed two more Royals in a 1-2-3 ninth.
Papelbon's 13th save made the two runs the Sox scored in the second inning off Royals ace Gil Meche stand up. The Sox loaded the bases on singles by Kevin Youkilis and J.D. Drew and a walk to Jason Varitek. Lugo's sacrifice fly scored one run, Coco Crisp's ground-rule double accounting for the other.
