ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The first pitch Jonathan Papelbon threw to Jonny Gomes with a man on and the Red Sox clinging to a two-run lead in the eighth inning last night dipped and moved away from the Tampa Bay designated hitter.

Gomes was fooled badly. He waved at the ball and missed it by a few feet.

And that, Boston Red Sox fans, was the debut of a new pitch Papelbon says he has developed. He calls it a “slutter.”

“It’s a cross between a slider and a cutter,” insisted Papelbon. “It’s not a true slider. It’s not a true cutter. When I throw it, I don’t pronate (downward twisting motion with his fingers) when I let the ball go. I leave my palm (up). I kind of cut the ball. That’s the angle it comes out.”

Fellow reliever Kyle Snyder was getting dressed at the locker next to Papelbon’s at Tropicana Field after the Red Sox had held off the Devil Rays, 8-6, running their record on the 10-game, season-high road trip to 2-0 by erupting for a pair of runs in the first inning and tacking on five in the fourth, thanks in part to two-run doubles by Coco Crisp and Julio Lugo.

“It’s a slider,” said Snyder, shaking his head with a bemused look on his face.

Catcher Jason Varitek was equally amused when he heard about the pitch he had caught from Papelbon.

“Whatever, Pap,” said a smiling Varitek. “Just throw the ball, Pap.”

Call it what you will. But with Papelbon using all his explosive pitches last night, the right-hander fanned three of the four batters he faced in nailing down a win for inconsistent Jon Lester.

The save was the 30th of the season for Papelbon, making him the first Red Sox pitcher to register at least 30 saves in consecutive seasons. Papelbon had 35 last year as a rookie, one of 10 Boston pitchers to record at least 30 saves in a year.

Last night Papelbon, as well as Manny Delcarmen and Hideki Okajima, who also worked behind Lester, permitting no hits and one unearned run combined, helped Lester improve his record to 2-0.

Lester gave up only four hits in 5 1/3 innings, but one was a two-run homer to Carlos Pena that tied the game at 2-2 in the first, and another was a three-run homer to Akinori Iwamura in the fifth that trimmed the Sox’ seemingly commanding 7-2 lead to 7-5.

Papelbon was well aware of the Red Sox record he set. And he couldn’t be happier with his role, ecstatic he lobbied for and was granted the opportunity to close again this year after Boston officials brought him to training camp with the intention of making him a starter, the better to manage the wear and tear on his shoulder. Last year Papelbon wore down in August and was shut down in early September because of a slight shoulder separation.

“I really feel I was meant to be a closer,” said Papelbon, who has successfully saved 30 of his 32 chances. “(Starting) is boring. I was dying a slow death in spring training. Now I’m in situations where I feel confident and happy. I chose this role. It was something I enjoyed last year. When I went back to being a starter (the role in which he began his professional career) it’s just not the same. When I went back to closer, I set high goals.

“I wanted to break records and be the best closer I can be,” he continued, big ice packs on his valuable right shoulder and elbow. “It’s a huge honor for me (the second 30-save season). My goal is to be a dominant closer, not just one year, but year after year. I want to stay healthy, do my work and break records. That’s just me.”

Helping him out this year, though, have been the Red Sox, notably manager Terry Francona, who has at times seemingly been babying Papelbon, limiting his appearances. Papelbon has chafed periodically at the infrequent use. But the emergence of Okajima has made it easy for Francona to resist the temptation to overwork Papelbon, as he might have done a year ago.

And now, with 36 games to go, that careful handling has left Papelbon feeling much stronger at this stage of the season than he was last year, a good sign as the season heads down the stretch.

“Last year was a grind for me. It was my rookie year,” said Papelbon, whose save last night was only the third this year in which he has had to throw more than one inning.

“This year, I feel better with my legs, my arms. This year I know my body better, how to take better care of myself. That’s why I feel so much better (at this stage of the year),” he said.

Papelbon’s consistency has been remarkable, and much needed, says Varitek.

“It (the 30 saves) is a testament to how important he is to this team in that role,” said Varitek, the starting catcher and captain. “You can’t forget Okajima, but a lot of where we are is his reliability.”

skrasner@projo.com