New arrival Kyle Snyder pitches five solid innings as Boston tops Washington.

01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, June 20, 2006

BY SHALISE MANZA YOUNG
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- Manager Terry Francona announced before last night's game that Jonathan Papelbon would not be available. The Boston Red Sox' young Superman, who had recorded saves in the team's three wins in Atlanta over the weekend, needed a night off.

But that meant the Sox' fate against the Washington Nationals would be placed in the hands of its shaky bullpen -- after the little-known starting pitcher with an E.R.A. over 20.00 and recently cut by the Royals left the game.

Somehow, though, it all worked out. Kyle Snyder gave up three runs in five innings, and Jermaine Van Buren, Javier Lopez, Rudy Seanez and Mike Timlin combined to hold Washington scoreless over the final four innings as the Red Sox won their fourth straight, 6-3.

Snyder, whose one and only start for the Royals this season was a two-inning, nine-run (five earned) disaster against the Rangers earlier this month, was in Sarasota, Fla., on Friday when he got a call from Boston general manager Theo Epstein asking if he'd be ready to start on Monday.

"I started shaking (when Epstein called). It's not what I expected," Snyder said. Asked what he did expect, the 6-foot-8 former first-round draft pick replied, "I didn't expect to be claimed off waivers because of my last start. I didn't expect anything; I'm very grateful for the opportunity."

Given the circumstances -- Snyder hadn't pitched in 10 days, he was pitching before the notoriously difficult Fenway Park crowd, and he was coming to a team in first place in arguably the toughest division in baseball -- Francona was thrilled with the result.

"He threw his breaking ball maybe a little more consistently than we expected, and it set up his other pitches. I thought he gave us five pretty solid innings . . . He really did a good job," Francona said.

Before the game, the manager said that he didn't know much about his newest starter, but as Snyder warmed up for the game Francona saw that he wanted to pitch, and that was "a good sign."

Snyder was efficient in his five innings. He threw just 67 pitches, striking out six and walking none. His two biggest mistakes were a thigh-high fastball to Jose Vidro in the first, which Vidro promptly sent over the Washington bullpen for a home run, and a 3-1 fastball to Jose Guillen in the third that ricocheted off the Coke bottles over the Monster Seats. The Nats' third run came in the second, on a ground-rule double by Robert Fick and an RBI single by Brian Schneider.

The low pitch count had some wondering why Snyder didn't come out for the sixth, but he had told Francona that he was starting to feel tired after the long break, and Francona saw no need to push the issue.

Instead, he turned to his bullpen, which in recent weeks has been a crapshoot.

Van Buren, who got word that he was sent back to Triple-A Pawtucket after the game, gave up a leadoff double to Vidro and a one-out walk to Daryle Ward, but a 6-4-3 double play by Ryan Zimmerman kept Washington off the board in the sixth.

While the way in which the pitching situation would play out was a mystery before the game, what was certain before the night began was that the Fenway Faithful would get the chance to welcome one of their favorites.

Gabe Kapler, called up by Boston on Saturday after spending the last nine months rehabbing from a ruptured left Achilles suffered last Sept. 14 in Toronto, received a standing ovation from the home crowd before his first at-bat in the second.

Kapler flied out to left that first time, but made it a memorable return when he brought home the game-tying run and scored the eventual game-winner in the fourth.

With Coco Crisp on first after beating out a high hopper to second for an infield hit, Kapler got down, looked at two strikes, then fouled off two more pitches from Nationals starter Tony Armas Jr. before stroking a double off the wall, scoring Crisp to put the score at 3-3. Kapler advanced on a sacrifice bunt from Alex Cora, then scored on a groundout by Kevin Youkilis, putting Boston up for the first time, 4-3.

"He's battled back from something that could have ended other guys' careers," captain Jason Varitek said. "It's great to have a teammate like that. He typifies our baseball club; like Trot (Nixon), he plays very hard."

Francona said he was "thrilled" for the utility infielder, who is not only a fan favorite, but a clubhouse favorite as well.

"He's a pro's pro and a Red Sox, to boot. He's everything you want in a human being and a player," said Francona.

smanza@projo.com / (401) 277-7340