ATLANTA — For Pat Light, the top of the ninth inning just wouldn't end.

As the Red Sox mashed extra-base hit after extra-base hit and piled on to an already sizable lead, Light was getting antsy in the visiting bullpen for his major-league debut.

"Probably the longest ninth I've ever been a part of," Light said with a chuckle and the wide-eyed smile only a major-league debut imprints on your face. "It was a lot of waiting."

Light allowed two runs on two hits and a walk in the ninth inning of Boston's 11-4 win over the Braves. After loading the bases with nobody out, he recorded three ground-ball outs to end the night.

"Good news is, unlike last year at Pawtucket, I knew what I was doing wrong," Light said. "I was able to calm down, collect my thoughts and go after that guy. Once I got that first out, I was good from there."

The tall right-hander had seen his family already fly to Houston and Atlanta in the hopes of seeing him take the major-league mound for the first time; he was glad Tuesday night that effort didn’t go to waste.

"It was awesome to have my whole family here and two of my closest friends," he said. "Whenever you make your debut, you kind of wonder in the back of your head if you belong. This is the big leagues, this is what you dream of. To get that first one out of the way, OK, maybe I do belong here."