Bullpen — with one glitch — comes through when needed

BOSTON – The whispers started before the dog days of summer ended. The Red Sox were solid in the front end of their pitching rotation. They had a lineup of gamers who seemed to respond to every situation. And they had a lights-out closer in Koji Uehara, who had swing-and-miss stuff and made batters flail away in futility.The only flaw? The seventh and eighth-inning relievers. That seemed to be the Achilles heel.Yet besides the inestimable Uehara, who was named the American League Championship Series? most valuable player, It was the maligned portion of the bullpen who saved the day in all four wins.The only glitch came in the sixth inning Saturday with the Red Sox nursing a 1-0 lead, and it could have been fatal. Clay Buccholz wilted in the sixth inning and was taken out after giving up a walk and a single. Franklin Morales came into the game, walked Prince Fielder, and gave up a two-run single to Victor Martinez.But Brandon Workman got some help from some atrocious Tiger baserunning (Fielder get caught off third on one of the most bizarre double plays you?ll ever see) and he got Alex Avila on strikes to end the inning, keeping the carnage to two runs.Workman, Janichi Tazawa and Craig Breslow provided that bridge to Uehara in fine fashion. In the meantime, the Red Sox, thanks to Shane Victorino?s seventh-inning grand slam, catapulted to a 5-2 lead and never relinquished it.?We were able to get it done in this series,” said Workman. “I don?t know the numbers of it, but we were able to get outs and give the ball to Koji, who?s about as automatic as you can get.”Breslow has played for six different teams in his career, and this will be his first World Series. He was quick to deflect credit.?It?s the starting position and the offense that got us into position to hold leads,” said Breslow who retired Prince Fielder, Victor Martinez and Don Kelly in the eighth inning, 1-2-3, before handing the ball over to Uehara. “I don?t think there?s any facet of the game that?s more important than any other.”Uehara became the closer by default. The Red Sox traded for Joel Hanrahan last winter, and he ended up with a bad arm, and Andrew Bailey, who came to the team in 2012, after Jonathan Papelbon went to the Philadelphia Phillies, also ended up on the shelf for the season with arm trouble.Thrust into the closer?s role, Uehara, beginning July 1, became one of the best stories of the season. Saturday, he retired the Tigers with ease in the ninth, despite giving up and infield hit to Jackson that Stephen Drew couldn?t quite reach.Uehara said it was a little easier pitching with a three-run lead, “because I knew I could afford to give up a run.?All I can say is that I?m extremely happy,” he said, through an interpreter. “I feel honored to play for this team.”