One step at a time

That was much better. Still too many oh-fers in key spots for my liking (Coco, Papi, Manny), but the pitching from Lester was good enough to keep the Braves from doing too much damage.

You know your starter's having a good night when even the other team's broadcasters are giving hm props - the phrase "big league pitcher" cropped up on more than one occasion during the game, and it was easy to see why Lester has been the jewel in the Red Sox farm system's crown.

The only real offense from the Sox came from the bat of Varitek, but his timing was impeccable, coming up big with the bases loaded in the third. The captain seems to be finally coming around - over the last seven games he has 11 hits and 8 RBIs - and hopefully this can jump-start the rest of the offense, which is looking decidedly lean right now. The Atlanta Braves of 2006 - right now, at least - are not the Atlanta Braves we have become accustomed to over the past few seasons, so it would be good to put a few wins up on the board and try to get a little momentum going. It's still unclear right now whether 2006 is going to be a transition year for the Sox, or whether they can put together a decent enough run to make the playoffs, but a bunch of interleague wins would certainly help things along.