BOSTON - No one needed a new beginning to the season more than Manny Delcarmen.

The only Boston native on the Red Sox roster, Delcarmen experienced his first home opener as a member of the team and got his World Series ring to boot.

But what really pleased Delcarmen was his outing. After a forgettable weekend in Toronto in which he was victimized not once but twice by Toronto's Frank Thomas -- who got him for a two-run double Friday night and a grand slam Sunday, fueling the Blue Jays' sweep -- Delcarmen pitched a strong inning and a third in the Sox' 5-0 triumph over Detroit.

He relieved starter Daisuke Matsuzaka in the seventh with two out and one on and promptly got Edgar Renteria to fly out to center, ending the inning.

In the eighth, he retired Placido Polanco on a flyout, fanned Gary Sheffield, and after an infield hit to short by Magglio Ordonez, slipped a called third stirke past Miguel Cabrera.

``I thought he hit his location,'' said Terry Francona. ``Manny's smart -- even at this age. He made a couple of mistakes last week, but he's not going to talk himself into getting into a rut. The last thing we're going to do is run away from him, either, so it was a good outing for him.''

``I was happy to go out there and have a good outing,'' said Delcarmen.

Delcarmen threw a bullpen session yesterday morning and conferred with pitching coach John Farrell.

``He told me if I was going to miss [with location] to miss on the right side,'' Delcarmen said. ``[Francona] said he was going to keep running me out there, and that helps my confidence.''