They did have Manny Delcarmen, whose stock in the bullpen should be rising after Friday night's 10-8 victory over Baltimore at Fenway Park.

Delcarmen did not get the victory, but he certainly played a part in it. After Brad Penny had dug his new team a seven-run hole, the bullpen held the fort with six innings of shutout, five-hit ball.

A throng of 38,266, a post-World War II record for Fenway, thoroughly enjoyed the comeback. Penny's first home start with Boston was dismal, but the Red Sox erased a 7-0 deficit against Orioles' ace Jeremy Guthrie.

Penny left after walking the leadoff man in the fourth. He gave up eight runs, six hits and five walks.

Baltimore's seven-run second inning outburst looked daunting against a Red Sox offense that came in with a .242 average, 12 in the American League.

It was 7-5, though, when the bullpen took over. Delcarmen allowed an inherited run to score on Nick Markakis' double, then retired eight straight before leaving.

That was a turning point, for it gave Boston time to come back. It was Boston's first victory after trailing by as many as seven runs since 2007.

"Our job in the bullpen is to get the ball to Jonathan Papelbon," Delcarmen said. "We have about five other guys who could set up or even close on other teams."

Papelbon earned his third save. Former Kansas City reliever Ramon Ramirez allowed two hits in 1 innings, and picked up his first victory with Boston.

In 14 combined innings this season, including 4 Friday, Delcarmen and Ramirez have yet to allow a run. Delcarmen is unscored upon since Sept. 7, 2008, a span of 19 innings, including seven this year.

The inherited run was the first allowed by Delcarmen this season. He was more enthused speaking about Ramirez than about himself.

"Ramon throws his changeup 88 to 90 (miles per hour), and will throw it at any time. His slider is overpowering, and his fastball is 93 to 95," Delcarmen said.

Markakis' grand slam in the second had plunged the Red Sox into a 7-0 ditch. Jason Bay's two-run homer ignited a four-run response in the bottom of the inning, and J.D. Drew's home run in the third made it 7-5.

Drew reached base every time with the homer, a triple and three walks.

Orioles first baseman Aubrey Huff's two-out error led to three unearned runs in the fifth, tying the game at 8-8. In the sixth, Bay's sacrifice fly and Mike Lowell's single finally put Boston over the top.

Once considered eighth-inning material, Delcarmen has slipped into the middle innings of Boston's deep bullpen pecking order. His role could increase for as long as setup man Justin Masterson replaces injured Daisuke Matsuzaka in the rotation.

Penny's disappointing outing came on the heels of a strong, winning six-inning Red Sox debut at Anaheim.

Red Sox 10

Orioles 8