BOSTON – The silence inside Fenway Park was deafening. Hideki Okajima’s implosion was one thing, but Jonathan Papelbon, too?
The so-called best bullpen in baseball was turned to mush last night, with the Yankees scoring six runs in the eighth inning to rally for an improbable 8-7 victory over the Red Sox.
Manager Terry Francona raised some eyebrows with his decision to insert Papelbon in the eighth, after Okajima had already allowed three runs, and that skepticism proved justified as the star closer allowed three straight hits, including Alex Rodriguez‘s RBI single that scored the go-ahead run.
“We got to Oki with the idea if even things didn’t go perfectly we’d have Pap ready for [Derek] Jeter,” Francona said. “And it fell apart in a hurry.”
The blown save was Papelbon’s third in 38 chances this season. Considering that opponents were 2-for-49 (.041) since Aug. 1 against Papelbon entering last night – he hadn’t allowed a run in his previous 162/3 innings – maybe this Yankees’ comeback victory was worthy of a gold star.
“We were just a few pitches away from stopping that situation and we just didn’t do it,” catcher Jason Varitek said.
The mayhem started when Jason Giambi and Robinson Cano slammed consecutive homers against Okajima leading off the eighth, pulling the Yankees within 7-4. After Melky Cabrera walked, Johnny Damon doubled, putting runners on second and third with nobody out. That ended Okajima’s night.
It marked the continuation of a rough stretch for Okajima, the Japanese phenom who had a 1.17 ERA before the Yankees pounded him for three runs on Aug. 30. Last week Okajima surrendered a game-winning home run to Vernon Wells of the Blue Jays.
“Uncharacteristically everything was over the middle of the plate, elevated and [Okajima] couldn’t get out of the middle,” Francona said of the lefty’s performance last night. “Sometimes when you miss, you get away with something, but everything he threw seemed to be right over the middle of the plate and they squared it up in a hurry.”
Jeter greeted Papelbon with an RBI single before Bobby Abreu tied the game with a smash to the center-field fence. Abreu, credited with a double, took third on Dustin Pedroia’s throwing error and scored on Rodriguez’s single.
Neither Papelbon nor Okajima made themselves available for comment last night and the usually outspoken David Ortiz told reporters he had nothing to say.
“Our bullpen has been really strong,” Francona said. “We gave up the lead tonight to a real good hitting team, and it’s disappointing, but we’ll come back and do it all again [today].”
mpuma@nypost.com