The 8th inning things started to unravel. The new reliever, Okajima, had nothing. By the time Terry got him out of there, the bases were loaded and there were no outs! In comes the one and only Jonathan Papelbon!



There was a time Pap could just about guarantee a win but not so much lately. Tonight he brought his A game!

The famous Pap look.



The only close call came when a ball was hit in the vicinity of Jacoby Ellsbury. Ells made an amazing catch. Both the Rays players and fans were dumfounded.



Pap got the side out without another run being scored.

Red Sox Nation rejoiced at the end of the 8th.



By the 9th inning, all of The Nation was on its feet.



And, with the stuff dreams are made of, Pap struck out the final batter!



Congratulation all around.



The scoreboard tells the story.



We left almost immediately. It was nearly 11 pm! By the time we rolled into the driveway here it was 12:30. Did I mention how much I hate that drive?

Still, it was a wonderful game. You imagine things will be great but this was even better. Hope you enjoyed the story and the photos. Baseball really is a way of life!

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