Well, since Mirabelli catches Wakefield, you have no Varitek in the lineup. Also, knuckleballers tend to have rubber arms, and can go a bit longer than most pitchers, and because it was not a close game at the time, maybe he wanted to save his bullpen for the Mets series, a tough offense, where the bullpen may be needed a lot.
Anyways, Timlin, best setup man in baseball, strikes out the Anti-Papi, Pat Burrell.