They proved that within a 24-hour period at Camden Yards.

On the heels of a devastating loss to the Orioles on Tuesday night, the Red Sox mounted a comeback of their own in the series finale Wednesday afternoon.

Boston trailed by four runs entering the top of the ninth inning. The Sox began to chip away when Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run homer, and Rocco Baldelli's two-out, two-run, pinch-hit single tied the game at 5-5.

And then, in the 11th, Jacoby Ellsbury led off with a double down the left-field line, moved to third on Jeff Bailey's fly to right, and came home when Julio Lugo hit a chopper through the hole on the left side of the drawn-in Baltimore infield to push across what proved to be the game-winning run.

Jonathan Papelbon earned his 20th save of the season and his 133rd of his career to become the all-time leader in franchise history with a 1-2-3 bottom of the 11th, and the Sox had a 6-5 victory that erased much of the bitterness of their squandering a nine-run lead in their 11-10 loss on Tuesday.

"We did some good things," said manager Terry Francona. "It wasn't a real pretty day until the ninth, and all of a sudden we started playing the game. Everybody . . . chipped in and helped us win."

After starter Josh Beckett allowed five runs on six hits through the first three-plus innings, he settled in and retired the final 12 batters he faced.

He struggled early, surrendering home runs to Luke Scott in the second and Ty Wigginton leading off in the fourth. Francona had reliever Daniel Bard warming in the bullpen as early as the third inning.

But Beckett settled in enough to work seven.

"It was a good character win for us," said Beckett. "Wish I could say I had a lot to do with it. It was nice to give the team seven innings. The guys came back, just like they always do."

Bard retired the side in order in the eighth and ninth innings, including four strikeouts. Ramon Ramirez worked a 1-2-3 10th inning before Papelbon made history, surpassing Bob Stanley on Boston's all-time saves list.

All told, the Sox pitchers — Beckett, Bard, Ramirez and Papelbon — retired the last 24 Orioles hitters in order. That's eight perfect innings after Wigginton's leadoff homer in the fourth.

"Our bullpen was as good as you can be," said Francona. "We're on the road in extra innings if somebody makes a mistake, you'll lose. Nobody made a mistake."

Wednesday's victory was especially satisfying for the Sox after their crushing defeat on Tuesday, when they surrendered a 10-1 lead and eventually lost, 11-10.

"I thought today was a great opportunity for our bullpen show the league, and the rest of the guys on this team, what we're made of. We answered that with flying colors today," said a confident Papelbon.

"There's nothing better than getting inserted into the game with the bases loaded — you can't ask for much more than that," said Baldelli. "I'm liking this role and I'm really getting used to it."

Boston showed its resiliency and proved opponents can only dent the armor, not break it.

"It's huge," said second baseman Dustin Pedroia of the victory, which gave the Sox a 6-3 record on their nine-game, three-city road trip. "After [Tuesday's] loss we definitely wanted to bounce back. It wasn't looking good until the ninth, but we strung good at-bats together and were able to find a way to win."

They usually do.