That the Rays also have the superior bullpen even with closer Troy Percival injured turns this American League Division Series into a mismatch.

Tampa Bay's bullpen got the final 11 outs of a 6-2 win on Friday night at Tropicana Field. The Rays have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series, which resumes on Sunday.

The score belies the degree of difficulty Tampa Bay's bullpen faced. Five of the outs came with the Rays leading 3-2 and a runner in scoring position.

"The backbone of our team,'' said Tampa Bay starter Scott Kazmir, who survived a rocky start to get into the sixth inning. "It's a good feeling to give the ball to those guys.''

Unlike say a year ago.

The 2007 Tampa Bay bullpen ranks among the worst of all time. It went 21-34 with a 6.16 ERA, highest in history for a bullpen. The relievers had 21 blown saves in 49 tries.

What would that group have done with a one-run lead, catcher Dioner Navarro was asked.

"No comment,'' said Navarro, a wide grin betraying his sentiments.

This year's bullpen went 31-17 with a 3.55 ERA in the regular season. It had only 16 blown saves in 68 chances for the AL's third-best conversation rate, at 76.5 percent.

The turnaround started with the signing of veteran free-agent closer Troy Percival. He settled the ninth inning and brought in a sense of professionalism and pitching with a purpose.

"Percy spearheaded this whole thing,'' Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "He has given courage and leadership to the bullpen.''

The Rays dropped Percival from the roster for this series because of a lingering back problem. The bullpen was prepared for this. It went without Percival for stretches during the regular season and performed well.

That was an important time in the education of this team.

"He's irreplaceable,'' righthander Dan Wheeler said. "But at the same time, everybody saw what they could do when he wasn't there. That helped everybody.''

Maddon relies on strength in numbers. The relievers know, Maddon said, that they can be used at any time. As a Tampa Bay reliever, your role is to be ready.

Maddon has used righthander Grant Balfour and lefthander J.P. Howell in both games against the White Sox. Their performance both in the regular season and in this series — 4 1/3 scoreless innings — illustrates why bullpens are so unpredictable.

Balfour could not make the club in spring training and passed through unclaimed waivers. Balfour was admittedly angry at the decision but stayed with the organization because his minor-league salary was a hefty $175,000.

"I was annoyed,'' Balfour said. "I didn't feel I was a Triple-A pitcher. When I went down, I was angry and wanted to show I belong up here and can do well here.''

Balfour returned to the Rays in May and had ridiculous numbers: 28 hits allowed and 82 strikeouts in 58 1/3 innings. He pitches with crackling intensity, as Orlando Cabrera learned during their dust-up in the opener.

Balfour inherited a 3-2 lead with one out in the sixth, a runner in scoring position and Cabrera batting. Balfour pumped in a series of high-velocity fastballs and retired Cabrera on a weak grounder and Nick Swisher on a soft fly to left.

Balfour stumbled in the seventh, allowing two consecutive singles to open their innings. Typical for the White Sox, though, it led only to runners at first and second as Chicago did not take an extra base in this game.

Maddon went to Howell against Jim Thome. Mixing changeups and curveballs, Howell gotThome to fly out to center with the runners holding. Then Howell put away Alexei Ramirez and A.J. Pierzynski to end the White Sox' last chance.

Howell failed as a starter with Kansas City, which traded him for light-hitting outfielder Joey Gathright. Howell had similar problems with the Rays before finding a new career in the bullpen. He was 6-1 with a 2.22 ERA for 89 1/3 innings during the regular season. Maddon had to fight the urge to use Howell even more because he was so effective.

"I had a lot of practice getting into jams as a starter,'' Howell said. "I think that's helped me as a reliever. The key is channeling all my energy and nervousness into the pitch.''

In the dugout, Percival served as the cheerleader. He may not be active, but this is his bullpen.

"I've been proud of these guys all year,'' Percival said. "They're not afraid to face anybody. They attack. They're better now without me.''

Percival could return for the AL Championship Series. One more win, and the Rays will be there.