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April 20, 2007
The big question surrounding tonight’s game is does Jonathan Papelbon pitch?
Heading to this series with the Yankees, Boston manager Terry Francona feels his bullpen is in pretty good shape. Papelbon recorded his fourth save of the season Thursday in Toronto. He retired all 11 batters he had faced until allowing a single on Wednesday in Toronto, and has struck out 11 of the 16 batters he’s faced.
Because of his shoulder troubles late last season, the Red Sox did not want to overwork him this time around. So, with the work load the hard-throwing right-hander has been dealt already, it would be to Boston’s best interest to have a late-inning lead and allow Papelbon to rest tonight.
When asked about his closer, Francona would not discuss Papelbon specifically, just saying the bullpen is where it needs to be.
“Our bullpen is actually in good shape,” said the manager. “We’re in good shape to go into a series right now, but that could change in a couple of days. . . Our starters, to this point, have done a very good job getting us into the game where we haven’t had to overexpose our relievers.”
Posted by Joe McDonald 
at 5:11 PM | Permalink
