BOSTON -- There was the breakthrough pitching performance by Jon Lester (eight one-hit innings) that the Red Sox had been seeking for weeks, and a clutch hit from Kevin Youkilis (walk-off single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth) that a slumping offense had been without for days.

But perhaps the biggest play of Tuesday night's thrilling 1-0 win over the Blue Jays was a dazzling defensive stop by scrappy second baseman Dustin Pedroia.

It was the top of the ninth inning with two outs and Scott Rolen on second base, when Jays center fielder Vernon Wells stung a grounder that seemed to have go-ahead single written all over it. But Pedroia -- even though he was initially screened by second-base umpire Gerry Davis -- had other ideas. He dove to his right and made a diving stop before firing to first base to nail Wells.

"I didn't even see it until the end," said Pedroia. "The umpire was kind of in my way."

While the threat was averted, the Fenway Park crowd started rocking, helping to create a buzz entering the bottom of the ninth on a night when Jays ace Roy Halladay had completely shut down the Red Sox over the first eight frames.

"That play right there pretty much won us the ballgame in the ninth inning," said closer Jonathan Papelbon, who earned the win. "It gave us the momentum, the fans got into it and we kind of just took it from there."

The play was eerily similar to the stab that Pedroia made against Baltimore's Miguel Tejada in the seventh inning of Clay Buchholz's no-hitter on Sept. 1, 2007.

Where did Tuesday's play rate in Pedroia's mind?

"I don't know. That's not my job to rate them, dude," Pedroia said. "I just try to make the play."

Pedroia made it, jamming his left shoulder in the process.

"It's all right," said Pedroia. "It just kind of came out a little bit and comes back in. I've been dealing with that for a couple of years. No big deal."

What was a big deal, however, was the way the Sox carried the momentum from Pedroia's stop into the bottom of the ninth.

With two outs and nobody on, David Ortiz -- after crushing a foul home run -- worked a walk against the seemingly tireless Halladay. Manny Ramirez laced a line single just in front of Wells in center. Up stepped Youkilis, who nailed a 1-0 pitch up the middle for a single. Third-base coach DeMarlo Hale waved Ortiz in from the start.

It might have been a close play at the plate, but such drama was averted when Wells dropped the ball. Game over. Five-game losing streak also over.

"The first pitch was a fastball up, [so I] just took it," said Youkilis. "Basically, the ball I hit was just a sinker coming in that I just tried to hit up the middle. I tried to stay through it. Earlier in the game, I kind of rolled over one. Facing Halladay, he has a lot of spin on the ball, a lot of good stuff and you have to try to keep your hands through the ball. Fortunately, that ball went through the middle."

And Hale -- seeing an earlier prediction from Boston manager Terry Francona come true -- never wavered.

"DeMarlo said in the sixth inning, 'It's going to come down to us sending somebody, and I said, 'Go ahead and send him,'" said Francona. "The way Halladay was pitching, you take your chance with one, because that might be all we had."

"That play right there pretty much won us the ballgame in the ninth inning. It gave us the momentum, the fans got into it and we kind of just took it from there."

-- Closer Jonathan Papelbon, on Dustin Pedroia's game-saving play

All Halladay did was pitch his fourth consecutive complete game, giving up five hits and the one run while waking one and striking out six.

But Lester stayed right with him, allowing just the one hit -- a Lyle Overbay leadoff single in the fifth -- over 96 pitches. He walked four and struck out six before giving way to Papelbon.

"[Lester] pitched more completely tonight," said Sox catcher Jason Varitek. "He can overpower some guys at times, being able to pitch complete and on both sides of the plate and change speeds. ... He threw some changeups, threw some cutters, we utilized all his pitches. The key was, he was strike one."

On a night that third baseman Mike Lowell returned to the Boston lineup for the first time since April 9, right fielder J.D. Drew exited in the third inning with tightness in his left quad.

Meanwhile, Lester and Halladay engaged in the truest form of a pitchers' duel. Aided by a couple of timely double-play balls, Lester faced just two batters over the minimum over the first six innings.

Similarly, the Boston bats were silent against Halladay. Youkilis (second-inning single) and Brandon Moss (infield hit in the fifth) accounted for the only damage against Halladay in the first six frames.

Then came the eventful ninth, and that was when it was a case of Pedroia to the rescue.

"He just wills himself to make plays," said Francona. "I know you have to have talent, but the will that he has is unbelievable. It's nice to have him on your side. I say it time and time again because that's how we feel."

Varitek was bracing himself for a play at the plate, only to see Pedroia prevent it from getting to the outfield.

"Phenomenal," said Varitek. "It obviously saved the game for us. It ignited our crowd a little bit."

Meanwhile, the Blue Jays had to experience at least some deflation.

"My goal was just to try to hit the ball back up the middle," said Wells. "I saw it get by him, and then I saw Superman at second base. He made a great play and the rest is history."

In the midst of his second season, Pedroia has already cemented a reputation as a winning player.

"That's a pretty good little second baseman over there," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. "We've seen him do that before. He does everything right on a baseball field. Big play at a big time -- that's what the great ones do."