With the Red Sox having a chance to clinch a playoff berth Tuesday, the poster boy for postseason-clinching celebrations, Jonathan Papelbon, was gearing up.

Papelbon, whose signature move in the playoff-induced celebrations has been the on-field dancing (along with an occasional beer case on the head), has been involved in eight postgame parties to commemorate either advancing into, or through, the postseason.

Now another one of those instances was on the horizon, a notion that didn’t escape the closer’s radar.

“I just like to have fun,” Papelbon said. ”That’s the whole thing, you let loose because you go through so much throughout the season, so many ups and downs, the stress, and travel, to accomplish something, so when you do, it’s no holds barred.”

While the Red Sox would have to wait one more game to clinch thanks to the rain-shortened loss to Toronto, it might have worked out better for the Sox anyway. If they had won, the belief was that most of the team would be watching the conclusion of the Angels-Rangers game — which didn’t start until after 10 p.m. — in the team’s clubhouse.

“We’re in a pretty good spot,” catcher Victor Martinez said. “We’ll see what happens and we’ll go from there. We’ll have to wait, come back tomorrow and play a game. We’ll see what happens. … I’m pretty excited when that moment comes, I’m really excited about it.”