Breslow has been Mr. Reliable all season long

NEW YORK -- Although Junichi Tazawa has struggled as the Red Sox's primary setup man, the team has gotten a highly underrated season from lefty Craig Breslow.

In some ways, it's not surprising that Breslow's solid season has gone unnoticed. He's always had a way of blending in.

"I think one thing I pride myself on and strive for is consistency," Breslow said. "I'm not only going to post the gaudiest numbers, but I like to think that going into the game, the guys know what to expect."

In 52 games this season, Breslow has a 2.12 ERA and a .241 opponents' batting average.

Breslow has proved that he's a lot more than a lefty specialist.

"I think what I try to bring is a sense of stability and reliability, and I've spent the better part of my career debunking this notion that I can only face lefties," Breslow said. "I think I said it the other day, where my season kind of follows this predictable path where it's like early on, I just face lefties. And as I start to get them out more readily and start to face some righties, I get to do this more and more and then I get to pitch a full inning. But it seems like every Opening Day, we start this process over again."