BOSTON — Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon have been the kingpins in the bullpen for the Boston Red Sox this season.

Anytime that door swung open in the late innings of a game, it was usually a given that the pair of relievers would simply shut the door in any threat.

Boston center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury singles to center, driving in a run, in the second inning.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach

At a time when the Red Sox needed that trend to continue, Okajima and Papelbon succumbed to New York in one catastrophic inning as the Yankees staged a dramatic comeback en route to an 8-7 victory at Fenway Park last night.

The Red Sox held a 7-2 lead heading into the top of the eighth inning, but the Yankees eruped for six runs, including a pair of back-to-back solo home runs by Jason Giambi and Robinson Cano to start the inning off Okajima.

The Japanese left-hander surrendered four runs on three hits in one-third of an inning, while Papelbon gave up two runs on three hits in that eighth inning as New York grabbed an 8-7 advantage that it wouldn’t relinquish. Papelbon entered the game having retired 18 of the last 19 batters he’s faced in his last six appearances, but New York got to him last night.

The rivalry between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees is one of the oldest and most cherished rivalries in all of professional sports. It’s certainly among the biggest in the last 20 years, and like a fine wine, it only gets better with age.

“Here we go again,” said Yankees manager Joe Torre. “I’ve missed this for the last couple of months. … The only thing that is predictable with these two teams is that anything can happen. These two teams have mutual respect for each other; fans have a different outlook on it, obviously. The energy level will be where it usually is.”

It was.

The Red Sox entered this three-game set with a 5½ game lead on the Bronx Bombers, and while the veterans on both teams know exactly what to expect when these teams meet, it was the rookies that proved crucial last night, especially for Boston.

Red Sox “rookie” Daisuke Matsuzaka, who turned 27 on Thursday, has struggled of late and the right-hander entered last night’s game on the heels of his worst outing of the season, when he allowed a career-high eight runs in a career-low 2 2/3 innings of work against Baltimore last weekend.

With the workload he’s had to deal with this season, something he wasn’t accustomed to in Japan, there’s been some concern whether he’s tiring at this point of the season. Red Sox manager Terry Francona has said publicly the club was not overly worried about it, and even if it was, Dice-K answered those questions last night.

He worked 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and threw a total of 120 pitches (64 strikes), including five walks and seven strikeouts.

Matsuzaka wasn’t the only rookie to make an impact for Boston last night.

The Sox’ Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury both made significant contributions.

Ellsbury, who was a last-minute replacement in center field for Coco Crisp, sidelined with a sore hip, provided Boston with its first run of the game, lining a shot up the middle to score Kevin Youkilis in the bottom of the second inning

The Red Sox had a chance to add to their lead in the third, but not before a little miscommunication.

Red Sox third base coach De Marlo Hale has done a terrific job the past two season directing base-running traffic. There haven’t been too many times he’s made a poor decision sending a player home only to get thrown out. In fact, many Red Sox players and staff have commented during the season how good of a job he’s done.

In the past, third-base coaches in Boston have had the misfortune of waving players home prematurely only to have those runners hurt by a collision. Hale has been very consistent this season, but last night his luck ran out.

With one out and Boston leading 1-0 in the bottom of the third inning, Ortiz doubled off the left-field wall. Mike Lowell followed and drilled a hot grounder up the middle. Hale positioned himself halfway down the third-base line, and just as Ortiz rounded the bag and began to slow up, Hale waved him home. New York center fielder Melky Cabrera retrieved the ball and threw a bullet to the plate to cut down the runner by a couple of steps.

That played proved crucial because Lowell, who reached second on the throw to the plate, later scored on an error by New York first baseman Jason Giambi to give the Red Sox a 2-0 advantage.

jmcdonal@projo.com