NEW YORK -- Jonathan Papelbon has been getting the job done so far this year, but not to his usual lofty standards. On Monday night the Sox closer loaded the bases against the Yankees, putting the go-ahead run on first base before striking out Robinson Cano.

His ERA sits at a Papelbon-esque 1.50, but he is allowing an unsightly 1.42 walks and hits per inning. He has not allowed more than one baserunner an inning for a season since his rookie year.

Papelbon came in during the eighth inning Monday night to put out Ramon Ramirez' fire, and did so successfully. The bases-loaded situation in the ninth, Papelbon said, was an anomaly, not a sign of something larger. It was cold and late, and Brett Gardner beat out an infield hit to start the ninth inning, and things snowballed from there.

"Last night was tough because of one-in-the-morning," he said.

Papelbon dealt with some mechanical issues during spring training, particularly in how he was ending his delivery, and where his foot pointed on his follow-through. He was ending too far towards first base, which sapped some of the power and bite from his fastball.

He said those mechanical issues are getting worked out, and that he is getting locked in.

"No, I feel like it's steadily getting better with my delivery now. I'm just steadily climbing that hill to get better and better," Papelbon said.

The key, he said, is "just staying back and driving with my legs."

Manager Terry Francona gave Papelbon the fullest vote of confidence possible, and said he saw nothing but an explosive fastball and a premier pitcher last night, despite the bases-loaded situation.

"I actually thought he threw the ball really well yesterday," Francona said. "Came in in a real tough situation in the eighth, made a real good pitch. Came out in the ninth, got ahead of Gardner and Gardner slaps that ball to short. now all of a sudden the game changes, becuase if you leave a pitch over the plate we're tied. no i thought he did pretty good. swisher had a real good at bat, considering the circumstances, i was really pleased with how he threw the ball.

Monday night also marked Papelbon's first five-out save in at least a year. Francona said he shies away from doing that -- but he will certainly bring out his top bullpen weapon if he needs five outs.

"I really like to use him four outs more than five . . . if anything doesn't go perfect, you're looking at a long outing," Francona said.

dbarbari@projo.com