So Papelbon was reflective in speaking of his time with the Red Sox.
"I've been looking forward to this series since the day I signed," he said before the game while speaking to both the Boston and Philadelphia media in the Phillies dugout.
Papelbon said it would mean more to beat his good friends.
"It's like you are playing with your brother in the backyard for so many years and want to have the bragging rights," he said. "I don't want to have to hear it from [Dustin] Pedroia or somebody like that. I want to give it to him, and it will be fun."
Not surprisingly, Papelbon said he was most proud of winning the World Series with the Red Sox, a team he said helped him grow as a player and person.
"It was an organization that I felt taught me how to play in the big leagues, and I played for a manager, Tito [Francona], who taught me how to be a man, taught me how to accept failure, winning everything from A to Z," Papelbon said. "I could talk all day of it. For me there are a lot of memories and a lot of good people who surrounded me."
Polanco sits again
Placido Polanco, who left Wednesday's 9-2 win over the Chicago Cubs with a sore left knee, was out of the starting lineup again. Manager Charlie Manuel, himself out of the game because a one-game suspension for his confrontation with umpire Bob Davidson earlier in the week, started Ty Wigginton at third base.
"Hopefully, he's ready [by Saturday]," Manuel said.
No Ortiz
With this interleague game in a National League park, there was no designated hitter. On Friday, that meant no David Ortiz for Boston.
Ortiz entered the game batting .345 with eight home runs and 27 RBIs as Boston's DH.
Manager Bobby Valentine suggested that Ortiz could see action at first base in this series. Valentine said that he thought Ortiz could use a breather anyway, and that this was a good time.
Ortiz grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth.
Eyeing Oswalt?
The Phillies declined comment on a report by Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports that Roy Oswalt threw a bullpen session for the team last week. The former Phillie is a free agent.
Kalas award winner
The Philadelphia Broadcasters Foundation named La Salle University junior Daniel Kurish the winner of the Kalas Award, presented annually to the Philadelphia-area college student wanting to follow in the footsteps of late Phillies Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas.
Kurish, who broadcasts multiple sports for La Salle's student-run radio station, WEXP, will receive a $1,500 college scholarship.
