BOSTON — The Red Sox made it official after last night’s game.

Devern Hansack has been recalled from Pawtucket to start tonight’s game against the Atlanta Braves as Boston plays its first inter-league series of the season.

To make room for Hansack, the Red Sox placed right-hander Josh Beckett (torn skin on right middle finger) on the disabled list, retroactive to Monday.

Sox manager Terry Francona said Beckett has not had any setbacks, and that his finger was still healing to the point to where he was expected to throw a bullpen session today. Francona said the Sox were planning for Beckett to come off the disabled list and make a start May 29, at home against Cleveland.

That would mean Beckett, who is 7-0, would miss only two starts — tonight’s against Atlanta and a start Wednesday in Yankee Stadium.

Hansack, meanwhile, will be making his second trip to Boston. He was with the team from May 3 to May 11, when he was sent back to Pawtucket. Pitchers have to stay in the minors for 10 days after being demoted unless another pitcher is hurt and goes on the DL, and, with Beckett being disabled, the Sox were allowed to bring back Hansack for tonight’s start.

Curt Schilling did not figure in last night’s decision.

As both Francona and Schilling said, it was a “weird” outing for the right-hander.

Schilling threw a whopping 118 pitches in six innings, and 13 of the 22 batters he faced reached base. But Schilling was able to limit the damage to just two runs, keeping the Sox in the game.

The right-hander pitched out of several jams, leaving the bases loaded in the first and second innings. The Tigers stranded nine runners while Schilling was in.

“It was a monumental struggle,” said Schilling.

Said Francona, “He never gave in. He pitched out of the stretch — it seemed like the whole game. He pitched probably with as much heart as you can. When he left the game (down 2-1), he gave us a chance to win it.”

Tavarez always ready

You can push his starts up or back. You can tell him he’s pitching morning, noon or night. Julian Tavarez assures you he will be ready.

“I grew up playing ball,” the right-hander, who hails from the Dominican Republic, said after pitching the Sox to a 2-1 win over the Detroit Tigers yesterday at Fenway. “I never went to school in my life, not even one day. The only thing I did was play ball in the street, and that’s the only thing I know how to do. To me, everything is mental. My mind is always ready for anything. To me, nothing bothers me. I’m always, like, ‘I’m ready. I’m ready to play.’ It doesn’t matter if it’s 3 in the morning. Let’s start the game … If you think, ‘It’s only three days rest. I’m not strong enough to go out there, just don’t go out and pitch because you’re not going to last long on the mound. To me, it’s, like, ‘I’m ready.’ I’m fine, no pain in my body. I’m fine. I’m going to go out there and give it my best.”

Tavarez was quick to give credit to batterymate Doug Mirabelli for his successful outing.

``Mirabelli is one of the reasons why I was so effective today,” said Tavarez, who turns 34 on Tuesday. ``He came to me (Wednesday night) and told me, ‘Remember last year, what we did in Toronto. We attacked hitters. We worked really fast. I want you to do the same thing tomorrow. Challenge those guys with a lot of sinking fastballs. Get a quick out, less pitches, and you’ll be effective.’ Mirabelli was a big part of it today.”

Papelbon gets a save

Jonathan Papelbon finally had a save opportunity, and the flame-throwing right-hander shook of any rust he might have had and blazed his way through the Tigers in preserving Julian Tavarez’s 2-1 victory in the first game of yesterday’s day-nighter.

Papelbon, whose last had a save opportunity May 6 in Minnesota, which he converted, blew away the first two Tigers, Carlos Guillen and Pudge Rodriguez, on 94-mph heaters. He retired Sean Casey on a grounder to short, wrapping up his 11th save in 12 chances.

“You get anxious to get back out there in a situation like that when one pitch can mean a difference in going to extra innings or losing the game,” said Papelbon of his inactivity, which was broken only by an inning in a blowout win over Baltimore last Saturday.

“I warmed up a little more than I normally would to make sure I was ready to pitch. I was able to stay focused and not rush through my delivery, but I was definitely anxious to be out there,” he said.

Okajima strong in relief

Speaking of the bullpen, lefty reliever Hideki Okajima continues to impress no matter the situation. The southpaw worked a perfect eighth inning during the afternoon portion of the double-dip with one strikeout before Papelbon earned his 11th save.

In so doing, Okajima extended his scoreless streak to 18 2/3 innings over his last 18 outings. Recording nearly half of his 45 outs with strikeouts, he has retired 53 of the last 62 batters he has faced and boasts an ERA of 0.46.

That may change a bit when teams see him again and get a better scouting report on the Japanese import. But for now, he’s been very effective.

Youkilis, Lowell streaks

With his single to left in the first inning of last night’s game, Kevin Youkilis extended his hitting streak to a career-high 11 games. . . . With his sixth-inning single in Game One, Mike Lowell extended his hitting streak to eight games. Lowell has had at least one hit in 32 of his 38 games.

jmcdonal@projo.com