DEJA VU!

Let's see... Great pitching, solid defense and a win in the Red Sox last at-bat. Check, check and CHECK! All of the same ingredients that helped end a five-game losing streak one night earlier were in place this evening at Fenway Park. And when Jason Varitek's RBI single plated Manny Ramirez in the bottom of the ninth inning with the winning run the recipe was complete for another dramatic win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Varitek's single to centerfield gave Ramirez just enough time to score ahead of centerfielder Vernon Wells throw to the plate. Wells had one batter earlier thrown out Jed Lowrie, who tried to score on a single by Brandon Moss. But not this time. Once Ramirez was called safe his teammates and Red Sox danced into the night as "Dirty Water" pumped through the sound system at Fenway.

Again the Red Sox bats were held in check by a Toronto starting pitcher. Dustin McGowan was stellar through 7.1 innings of work. He allowed just four hits, but one of those was a solo homer by David Ortiz in the seventh inning which gave the Red Sox a short lived 1-0 edge. McGowen was bested by Dice-K Matsuzaka. who tossed seven innings of shutout baseball. Matsuzaka allowed just two hits before giving way to the Boston pen.

However, Manny Delcarmen and Hideki Okajima ran into immediate trouble. Delcarmen gave up a leadoff single to Adam Lind. Okajima took over and promptly served up a pitch that Gregg Zaun hit for a double. Alex Rios then hit a sacrifice fly that scored Lind to tie the game at 1-1. Okajima settled to escape further damage. And it set the stage for the Sox to pull out another victory in dramatic fashion.

While many in Red Sox Nation are wondering why the bats are suddenly quiet another aspect of their roster is setting the stage for victory. In the past two games Red Sox starting pitchers have tossed 15 innings of shutout baseball. Matsuzaka took his turn at keeping the opposition quiet this evening after Jon Lester went eight scoreless innings on Tuesday. The hits will eventually start falling in more frequently and runs will be scored. But it is important that the Red Sox are not wasting the efforts of their starting pitchers while they find a groove. And for the past two evenings they've made sure not to waste either stellar outing.