This is where quiet Jon Lester stepped into the vacuum and cleaned up what had been an ugly production the previous three nights. The Sox pitched to the plan: Lester for six innings and win No. 1 of his career, Rudy Seanez for a 1-2-3 seventh, Mike Timlin for an uneventful eighth, and Jonathan Papelbon for major league-leading save No. 21 in the ninth. The offense: present when needed in the form of Jason Varitek's three-run double in the third. The defense: crisp and accountable. The plays of greatest consequence: Alex Cora's bang-bang play on a Jeff Francoeur hopper in the fifth with the bases loaded, and Mike Lowell's diving snare with a runner aboard to end the game, a 4-1 win that snapped a four-game losing streak before 51,038, the largest gathering at Turner Field this season.
Do all that, manager Terry Francona said, ``and you look like a good ball club again."
The Sox looked good and capable last night, after three forgettable games in Minnesota, where the Twins outscored the Sox, 18-6, and where Boston hit .232. Last night, there was nothing audacious on display. There was simply timing and poise, and the catalyst was Lester.
``I thought he pitched good for a 22-year-old kid, real good," said Atlanta manager Bobby Cox, who credited Varitek with guiding Lester through an Atlanta lineup that ranks fourth in the National League in runs.
Yes, Atlanta has lost 15 of 18, falling to 13 games behind the National League East-leading (the Devil Rays, by comparison, are just 11 1/2 behind the Yankees in the American League East). Yes, Lester became the fourth rookie to beat the Braves in an eight-day span.
But to him, they are still the Braves.
``It's tough to get that out of your head," he said. ``I caught myself doing it during spring training, a lot, who I'm facing, what they've done. I try to block it out, but it's still tough with guys like Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones, Edgar Renteria."
