He was bound to blow a save sooner or later

He got Maicer Izturis to foul out to Victor Martinez and then got Gary Matthews Jr. flew out to Jacoby Ellsbury.Then the nightmare began.Papelbon had Erick Aybar 0-2 and with Martinez setting up for a high and inside waste pitch, Papelbon decided to throw a fastball right down the middle. Aybar promptly singled up the middle.Papelbon had a 3-2 count on Chone Figgins and walked Figgins That was the killer AB in this inning for the Red Sox. I am sorry, but there is no way on this earth you can walk Figgins in that spot.He was 0-for-600 in the series, can’t hit a HR, and he had looked clueless his last two AB’s. Papelbon can’t walk a guy like that.Up came Abreu and you just knew Abreu was going to get a hit I just want to say something about Abreu. Just like with Izturis and Figgins, Papelbon had two strikes on Abreu. And just like with the two batters before, Papelbon couldn’t put away Abreu.Abreu doubled off the monster and now the game was 6-5 Red Sox.

Francona decided to intentionally walk Torii Hunter to get to Guerrero.No complaints there I would have done the same thing. Hunter is 3-for-5 with a HR lifetime off of Papelbon and Guerrero is a shell of his former self.The move backfired. On the first pitch, Guerrero ripped a single to center and the Angels took a 7-6 lead.I could have woken up in the morning with my upper lip stapled to my pillow and I would have been less shocked than I was when I watched what unfolded in the ninth.Even when the Angels had the bases loaded, I still thought the Red Sox would get out of the inning. After all, if you have watched Papelbon all season, this was par for the course.I can’t tell you how many times he loaded the bases during the regular season, only to see him get out of the jam. Today, it was not meant to be.Listen, it was bound to happen with Papelbon.

He can into this game with 26 consecutive scoreless innings in the postseason. He was bound to blow a save sooner or later.Even Mariano Rivera has blown his fair share of saves in the postseason.The Red Sox went quietly in the ninth and the Angels finally beat their arch nemesis in the playoffs. Going into this series, everyone talked about how the Red Sox had the advantage in the bullpen.Unfortunately for the Red Sox, today their bullpen became their weakness. This article is also featured on The Ghost of Moonlight Graham.