DETROIT — Say this for the 2009 version of Jonathan Papelbon: He seems to make it interesting every time out, but he gets the job done.

Load the bases with none out in the bottom of the ninth? No problem. Just strike out the side and the game is over.

Papelbon gave up three straight singles to load the bases in the ninth, putting a 5-1 Sox lead in jeopardy. The Tigers' Josh Anderson came to the plate and fouled off nine pitches before finally striking out in an 11-pitch at-bat, earning a standing ovation from the Comerica Park faithful.

Papelbon then struck out pinch-hitter Jeff Larish and shortstop Ramon Santiago to preserve the win — 35 pitches in a non-save situation. It was the latest shaky outing for Papelbon, who is still among the league leaders in saves despite allowing nearly one and a half baserunners per inning.

"They all come down to circumstances," Papelbon said. "Tonight was a situation where balls found the hole. You can't do anything about that. For me to dwell on that is only going to hurt me. So I've got to keep moving on to the next thing and not let those situations get the best of me. Because it's easy to let that happen."

Again, Papelbon got the result that mattered, manager Terry Francona said, in that no runs crossed the plate.

"It was a long, tough inning, especially considering the circumstances, but we had a lot of good pitching tonight," Francona added.

On the offensive side, the Red Sox' bats seem to have come alive since the lineup was reshuffled Sunday. New leadoff man Dustin Pedroia reached base twice, drove in a run, and scored. The same goes for his replacement in the second spot, J.D. Drew. Jacoby Ellsbury, who plunged to the eighth spot, reached base four times, once on an error. It all added up to the 500th win of Francona's career in Boston.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, meanwhile, delivered the best performance of his injury shortened year, though that speaks to what a poor 2009 he's had to this point. Matsuzaka threw five innings, allowing nine baserunners but only one run. The outing was vintage Dice-K: put runners on and then dodge bullets.

"He can create some jams and he can get out of some jams," Francona said.

He struck out six to get out of jam after jam. His ERA dropped to 7.17 on the season, and he got his first win of the year.

"For a starting pitcher, getting that first win is so important, because it marks the start of the season, in a way, and I was finally able to get my first win today, and I finally feel I can get the season going," Matsuzaka said.

With the win, the Sox remained a half-game behind New York in the A.L. East.

The revamped Sox offensive order made short work of Rick Porcello, a talented rookie who had five wins in May. Boston knocked Porcello around for seven hits and a walk over 4.1 innings, driving up his pitch count and forcing him to the showers early.

Pedroia and Drew got the scoring started quickly, with Pedroia doubling to lead off the game, and Drew singling to drive him in. Drew later scored again on a soaring Jason Bay home run to left, his 16th of the season.

"He's so dangerous," Francona said. "They made some pitches, and all of a sudden there's a ball that's up in the zone hanging, and he just crushes it. He's become … well, he's been that kind of hitter, but it's nice to see him do it for us."

With the bases loaded in the sixth and Porcello out of the game, Brandon Lyon walked Pedroia to bring in the Sox' fourth run. Lyon then hit Kevin Youkilis with a pitch for the fifth and final Boston run of the game..

Some mid-game excitement was provided by a frantic squirrel that ran all over the outfield for parts of two innings, prompting a posse of groundskeepers to try to corral it between frames. They failed miserably, succeeding only in driving it into the Red Sox dugout, where it wreaked havoc before it was finally caught.

"Anyone have AOL?" Francona said. "You know, they have those celebrity lookalikes? When it was behind [Pedroia] at second, that's what it reminded me of. I'm sure he appreciated that."

It was clearly not the first squirrel-related comment directed Pedroia's way.

"I got made fun of pretty much half the game, so it was pretty much a distraction for me," Pedroia said.

"The hunting guys on our team, they were licking their chops, but other than that, everyone else thought it was cool."

dbarbari@projo.com