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"That last pitch was actually a slider," he said. "I was thinking, 'man, I've got to strike this guy out, or I'm going to get booed here'."

Fat chance of that.

Not while he's on HIS mound.
 
Papelbon was not the game's only hurler with an emotional attachment Fenway.

Oneonta starter Tom Thornton, who grew up in nearby Middleborough, had long dreamed of pitching on the hallowed grounds of his hometown heroes.

"I've always thought about it," said Thornton, Detroit's 21st round pick in this year's draft out of Notre Dame. "I never thought it was going to come so soon. This was kind of an unexpected blessing."

Thornton said that despite being nicked for all three Spinner runs, pitching at Fenway, in front of friends, family, and 33,000 strangers, provided him with the thrill of a lifetime.

"It was wonderful," he said. "An amazing experience. The final result could have been better. But it was great to be out there, in front of these amazing fans. It was an unbelievable experience. It really was. I was a little nervous. But it felt really good to get that first inning out of the way. But it (my nerves) were definitely jumpy at first."
 

While it may be a few years before either Thornton or the younger Papelbon see the inside of a big league park again, Pawtucket first baseman Carlos Pena, a veteran big leaguer and recent free agent signing by the Sox, was cooling his heels with Pawtucket in the waning days of a fast-track rehab run.

It was his two-run blast in the bottom of the eighth that boosted the PawSox to a 5-4 win over Rochester.

That made for a sweet night for Carlos, who grew up here and played for Northeasten University, which is a long fly ball to right away from Fenway.

"That was cool," said Pena. "That was a great thing. For us, and for me personally. My family's here, they came out to watch the game. That was just great. To come out with a victory, and to contribute in such a way, that was great."

Pena, who has 85 career  homers in the majors, said that for one night at least, he felt like a big leaguer once more.

"It's a dream come true," he said about the spectre of playing for his home town team. "We're wearing these (Pawtucket) uniforms, and they're very similar. All we have to do is change the (city) and you've got the Red Sox. You're so close you can almost taste it."

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