Boston’s Kevin Youkilis watches his solo home run off Cincinnati pitcher Mike Lincoln in the 10th inning of yesterday’s game.

AP / David Kohl

CINCINNATI — In a game that had a little of everything, the most important ingredient yesterday for the depleted Boston Red Sox was a win, a 6-4 roller-coaster triumph over the Cincinnati Reds at the Great American Ball Park.

Kevin Youkilis starred as Boston’s conquering hero, returning to his hometown and snapping a tie with a homer to right center field with one out in the 10th, a blast that was followed on the next pitch by a Coco Crisp homer to virtually the same spot in the bleachers.

And when Craig Hansen was able to work out of two-out trouble in the bottom of the inning for his first career save, the Red Sox, minus sluggers David Ortiz (wrist, disabled list) and Manny Ramirez (hamstring) along with Julio Lugo (flu) and Jason Varitek (strep throat), came out on top in a seesaw game.

Along the way, Boston survived Manny Delcarmen’s danger-filled 3-and-0 confrontation with sure-fire Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. in the eighth, and overcame a blown save by Jonathan Papelbon, who served up a game-tying two-out homer to Edwin Encarnacion on a hanging 2-and-2 splitter in the ninth, costing starter Tim Wakefield a well-deserved win.

“We had heard that this ballpark played really small, and I agree. It was to our benefit. Youk took a beautiful swing. So did Coco,” said Boston manager Terry Francona after the game in which five homers were hit and a seemingly harmless routine fly ball made it to the edge of the warning track in right, where J.D. Drew hauled it in for the final out with two on.

“It was nice to get this win,” said Youkilis, who went 3-for-5.

It was especially sweet for Youkilis, a former high school and college star in Cincinnati who had more than a hundred family and friends in the right-field stands.

When he launched a 2-and-2 pitch off Mike Lincoln into the seats for his 11th homer of the year, it did more than just give the Sox a 5-4 advantage.

“I was just trying to get a hit the way I always do, but that was definitely a big thrill to be able to hit a home run in that situation, especially in Cincinnati. I may not ever get another chance to play here after (today). It was a great feeling, one of the great memories I’ll ever have in my career,” Youkilis said.

Delcarmen carved out a memory of his own in getting the best of Griffey, one of his boyhood idols, though he hadn’t exactly tried to set it up that way.

When Delcarmen entered the game, he inherited two base runners left by an ineffective Hideki Okajima. Pinch-hitter Javier Valentin’s whacked Delcarmen’s first pitch on the ground through the right side, narrowing Boston’s lead to 4-3 and putting Reds at first and third with only one out. Francona had the infield playing back for a double play, conceding the tying run.

“Once I gave up the hit and the run scored, I didn’t realize who was coming up,” Delcarmen said. “I heard the fans screaming. It was Griffey. Oh, my God.”

The situation took a turn for the worse when Delcarmen fell behind to 3-and-0.

Would Griffey be swinging or would Griffey, who earlier in the week bashed his 600th career homer, be taking a pitch?

Delcarmen had a good idea the lumber on Griffey’s shoulder wouldn’t be just an ornament.

“We just talked about it before the series that Griffey is a 3-and-0 swing guy,” Delcarmen said. “It helped knowing that he’d be swinging. But even if I walked him, we’d still have the bases loaded and a chance for a double play.”

Delcarmen tried to jam him. He succeeded, with Griffey not showing the patience you might expect from a superstar. Griffey hit a bouncer to second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who started an inning-ending double play, keeping it a 4-3 game.

“I jammed him. I got it in on him, a little higher than I wanted. When he hit the ball, I didn’t know if we’d get two. But he doesn’t run as well as he used to,” Delcarmen said.

So with that jam ended, it seemed that the win would be in the bag when Papelbon entered. The fire-balling right-hander had blown saves on May 7 and May 9, but had been successful in his previous nine chances. And he quickly got two outs.

Then the count went to 2-and-2 on Encarnacion. Papelbon tried two inside fastballs, around 95-97 mph. Encarnacion fouled them back. Then Papelbon went to a splitter. It caught too much of the plate and Encarnacion pulled a liner over the left-field fence, tying the game.

“When I get two strikes on a guy, I’ve got to be able to put them away. There’s no reason I shouldn’t be able to put them away,” lamented Papelbon.

“It was the right pitch to throw. It was a simple failure to execute the pitch. I’ve to put guys away with two strikes and win the ball game. It’s that simple. And I threw him a hanger that was over the middle and moving into his bat. I can’t let that happen. That’s what frustrates me,” he said.

But a short time later the team’s frustration turned into a win, courtesy of Youkilis, Crisp and Hansen.Red Sox

6

Reds

4

Next Game

Today

at Cincinnati,

1:15 p.m.

skrasner@projo.com