BOSTON -- This is not the kind of trouble you anticipate with two All-Star closers on your roster. But with Andrew Bailey going on the disabled list Monday afternoon with a strained right biceps and hours later Joel Hanrahan coming out of the ninth inning with what manager John Farrell called a right forearm strain, the Boston Red Sox bullpen needs help, and fast.

Otherwise, you wouldn't see Ryan Dempster, who is scheduled to pitch on Tuesday, beginning to throw in the 11th inning Monday night. But Dempster was spared by some yeoman work from Clayton Mortensen and three two-out hits in the bottom of the 11th, the last a game-winning double by Stephen Drew, his fourth hit of the night, in Boston's 6-5 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Hanrahan left the game after blowing his second save in six opportunities, giving up a long home run to Brian Dozier, the first of the season for the Twins' second baseman and the fourth allowed in nine appearances (7 1/3 innings) by Hanrahan. Projected to be the backbone of the Sox's bullpen, Hanrahan has instead evoked flashbacks of Eric Gagne and Bobby Jenks, two high-profile closers who flamed out in their time in Boston.

Joel Hanrahan, who felt tightness in his right forearm, leaves the mound with trainer Masai Takahashi. Michael Ivins/Getty Images

Hanrahan's early troubles were blamed primarily on a hamstring strain that occurred in his second appearance of the season, April 3 in New York, and eventually sent him to the disabled list, causing him to miss 15 games. He came back last Tuesday to a new arrangement, one in which he was designated to serve in a setup role to Bailey, who had flourished in Hanrahan's absence. But Bailey hasn't pitched in eight days because of tightness in his biceps, and when an MRI on Monday confirmed he had inflammation in the muscle, he was placed on the DL. Hanrahan has converted his only save opportunity in Bailey's absence, pitching a scoreless ninth in Boston's 3-1 win over Toronto last Thursday.

Now Bailey is not eligible to pitch until May 14 at the earliest. And Hanrahan is scheduled for an MRI on Tuesday, one that could send him back to the DL, for a condition he said is unlike anything he has experienced before.

"In 2010, I had a little bit [of discomfort] right on the bone of the elbow," he said. "I think I missed a week at the start of the season that year, but then everything was fine. This is the first time it felt like this."

Hanrahan missed 10 games in September 2009, with what the Washington Nationals, his team at the time, called elbow soreness. He missed another seven games at the start of the 2010 season, when he was placed on the DL (backdated to spring training) with what was called a strained flexor muscle in the forearm.

Any diagnosis of a strained forearm sends up red flags for a pitcher. Bailey, for example, missed the first 52 games of the 2011 season with a strained forearm.

Hanrahan, of course, hopes this won't be serious but will await the results of Tuesday's MRI. He said he felt great warming up in the bullpen but first felt discomfort during the at-bat with Dozier, the second batter he faced in the ninth, with the Sox leading 5-4.

"I think I can kind of pinpoint it to the pitch after the one that went to the backstop," said Hanrahan, whose 1-and-1 delivery to Dozier, a 95-mph fastball, skipped past catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. "I threw the pitch and felt a little pull. My forearm went with the ball.

"I felt like I could still throw the ball all right, throw the ball and stretch it out a little bit, see what happens."

What happened was Dozier hit the sixth pitch of the at-bat, all fastballs, over the wall in left-center field to tie the score. Hanrahan struck out Joe Mauer for the second out of the inning but walked Eduardo Escobar. He threw over to first, delivered ball one to Justin Morneau, then summoned the trainer from the dugout.

"The pickoff at first, the ball barely got there," he said. "I threw one more. I couldn't take it anymore."