Red Sox convert the split

“We’ve got to battle back,’’ Ortiz said before the game. “We’ve got to keep on fighting. It’s not over yet.

“You can’t hang it up. Of course, you want to have Youk in the lineup doing his thing, helping us out the way he normally does. But if you can’t, you’ve got to try to compete and whatever happens, happens.

“Definitely, we’re going to try to fight back and put ourselves in a situation where we can be playing ball in October.’’

The Sox started that process last night, beating the Indians, 6-2, in front of 38,102 at Fenway Park, behind the impressive pitching of their most enigmatic starter, Daisuke Matsuzaka.

After a split against the lowly Indians, the Sox begin a four-game series in New York tonight, trailing the Yankees by six games.

That could be attributed, in large part, to one swing by Beltre, in one of the few situations in which he hadn’t been successful this season. Prior to that at-bat, Beltre had been just 2 for 20 with the bases loaded, with five RBIs. He nearly doubled that total last night.

“I knew I’ve been horrible with the bases loaded this year,’’ Beltre said. “I think the main thing was I was too pa tient before. I wasn’t aggressive enough, and I’m an aggressive hitter. Last two times with the bases loaded I’ve been more aggressive, and today was the result.

“That’s baseball. Then sometimes when you know you’re doing bad, it gets in your head, and you don’t have confidence when you get to that position.’’

It appears that won’t be the case anymore.

But now, without “probably the best hitter on the team,’’ as Beltre called Youkilis, the Sox third baseman will be relied on even more. He’s comfortable with that, though he won’t be happy if it means more teammates waiting for him at home plate to rub his head (which he doesn’t like) in front of a packed house.

“He’s meant a lot,’’ Bill Hall said of Beltre. “I don’t think you can put into words what he means to this team right now. With the production he’s had and the defense he’s played, he’s pretty much a godsend.’’

He’s not alone in those sentiments.