Red Sox reliever Brad Ziegler admitted yesterday he got so nervous watching a recent game he picked his thumbnail down too low.

So far, though, Ziegler has given the Sox and their fans no reason to nibble their own nails when he’s been on the mound. He has been a pillar of domination at a crucial time for the injury-depleted bullpen.

Ziegler’s terrific start to his Sox career continued when he retired the Twins in order, including two via strikeout, in the ninth inning to earn his first save for his new team in an 8-7 win over Minnesota at Fenway Park.

“He’s been a godsend, to be honest,” manager John Farrell said. “He’s very calm. He’s experienced back there. His addition here has given us a huge boost.”

Ziegler was acquired July 9, the same day the Sox learned closer Craig Kimbrel required knee surgery, from the Arizona Diamondbacks for two prospects. With Koji Uehara joining Kimbrel on the disabled list last week, Ziegler has been anointed the closer.

After dominating the Twins, Ziegler has now thrown six scoreless innings and allowed just two baserunners, one on a single and one on a wild pitch after a strikeout. His ninth-inning appearance against the Twins was his first in a save situation.

“It’s fun when the third out happens and we still have the lead. You feel the crowd explode a little bit,” said Ziegler, who had 18 saves for Arizona before the trade. “At the same time, I’m not looking to supplant anyone’s job or anything like that. I hope both those guys (Kimbrel and Uehara) are back in about a week or two and I’ll slot in wherever they need me to. I just want to win games.”

When the Sox picked up Ziegler, Farrell was excited about adding the sidearm thrower as a different look to a bullpen made up of mostly fireballers. Ziegler’s odd arm angle was on full display when Minnesota’s Eduardo Nunez led off the ninth. Ahead in the count 1-2, Ziegler unleashed a slider that didn’t look like it was in the strike zone almost from the second it left the pitcher’s hand. Nunez, a .298 hitter, flailed at the pitch for strike three.

“They kind of gear up for a fastball. They see fastball arm speed but then it almost acts as much like a changeup as opposed to the movement on it,” Ziegler said. “But it just lets me know that he’s not seeing it well and that’s a pitch that it’s an out pitch for me usually when I throw it. It’s good. If they’re getting good swings at it then I’ve got to start making some big adjustments because that’s a pitch I rely on pretty heavily.”

Left-handed hitters can be tough on righty sidearmers and Ziegler’s career totals (.758 OPS for lefties vs. .553 OPS for righties) reflect that. But Ziegler had no problem with Joe Mauer, a career .310 hitter who was 3-for-3 lifetime against Ziegler. Mauer hit a first-pitch sinker to second base for the second out.

“He’s got really good numbers off me. But it’s probably been six years or so since I faced him,” Ziegler said. “I just wanted to keep the ball down. I knew he would be aggressive, he’s the tying run.”

Ziegler struck out Miguel Sano to end the game, further proving the transition from laid-back Arizona to high-intensity Boston has gone smooth despite earlier concerns the pitcher had about controlling his adrenaline.

“It got really loud today at the end of the game,” Ziegler said. “I’ve learned to kind of deal with that and hopefully not let it get the best of me too much. That way the fans don’t feel like they’ve got to stop cheering, because I love it. I love it when they’re going crazy and hopefully rattling the hitter a little bit.”