Papelbon Pitches 5 Outs To A Rocky Save

The save was rocky, but not as bad as it looks. The 8th was fine, but in cold weather he had a 20+ minute wait for the 9th. After giving up a single to Brett Gardner that the shortstop would have thrown out most runners, he then hit Derek Jeter. He then struck out Mark Texeria, walked Swisher, and then struck out Cano.
Overall it was a great performance for Papelbon, and from a fantasy perspective it was huge. However, it will cost Papelbon owners the next day for Paps.
Expect Takashi Saito to get a save opportunity. this is not official, but I know how Francona handles Papelbon and he will not pitch if the Red Sox lead in the 9th tomorrow. That is probably obvious to anyone.
So if you have Saito on your bench, put him in.
Labels: Boston, Closers, Jonathan Papelbon, Red Sox, Saito

