BOSTON -- Paul Byrd got his first taste of playing at Fenway Park from the home dugout on Saturday. He took the mound, pitched a sound outing and began what he and the Sox hope is a journey toward October baseball.

The thing is, no one told Roy Halladay any of that.

Halladay walked onto the mound for Saturday's game against the Red Sox and did the unthinkable, considering just how potent Boston's lineup looked in its three-game sweep of Texas. The Jays' ace handcuffed the Sox all night, stealing Byrd's thunder and earning a 4-1 win.

"Man, he should make a pitching video," Dustin Pedroia said of Halladay. "He's got great stuff. It's tough to get in a rhythm on him because he's creating a rhythm for himself. He pretty much controlled us the whole night, and that's why he's one of the best in the league."

The game was nothing of the tedious walk-drawing at-bats and count-working battles the Red Sox had during the Rangers series. This was the absolute contrary, and Halladay and Byrd were to thank for that.

Both have reputations of being fast-working guys who attack the strike zone and, consequently, force hitters to be aggressive at the plate, because there is little chance of drawing a base on balls.

"The pitchers got it, they threw it, they got it over the plate," manager Terry Francona said. "It's a fun game to play defense in."

Halladay tossed a complete game -- his Major League-leading eighth of the season -- only surrendering a run on a first-pitch homer by Pedroia to lead off the ninth inning. Halladay walked one and scattered seven hits -- a 180-degree turn for this Red Sox lineup that poured in 37 runs in its past three games.

Byrd complemented Halladay's line well. He became the first Sox pitcher since Bret Saberhagen on July 31, 1998, to go at least seven innings without recording a walk or a strikeout.

But he made two mistakes, and they both ended up in the seats above the Green Monster.

After beginning the contest by allowing two singles -- one to leadoff hitter Joe Inglett, who Byrd subsequently picked off at first -- Alex Rios unloaded on a 1-1 pitch for his ninth homer of the year. Just like that, Toronto harbored a 2-0 lead.

"It was my fault," Byrd said. "I made a bad pitch -- changeup, supposed to be away, but it was down and in, and he hooked it for a homer."

Adam Lind added insurance in the sixth, spanking another changeup over the Green Monster and giving Halladay a 3-0 lead to work with -- more than enough for the 2003 American League Cy Young Award winner on this night.

"Halladay had a great game; you have to tip your cap there," Byrd said. "So he didn't leave me a lot of room for error. He threw a very good ballgame and that's pretty much it."

In fact, the Red Sox never really put it together at the plate. Despite their efforts, Halladay controlled the tempo.

"He threw the ball well," J.D. Drew said. "You know what you're going to get with him. Every night he seems to do that. You need to get your hits in big situations."

The only real threat Boston mustered in the contest came in the bottom of the first, just after Toronto took a two-run lead. With two outs, David Ortiz singled and Kevin Youkilis walked -- setting up a matchup between Halladay and Drew.

Drew laced a 2-0 pitch to center, but Vernon Wells was there to end the threat.

"I felt like in the first I had an opportunity and ended up lining out," Drew said. "After that, he just didn't really allow anyone in scoring position. [Pedroia] hit the home run, but other than that, he dealt all night."

It was Byrd's second consecutive start against the Jays, the first coming in a 4-2 victory as a member of the Indians last Saturday. That game was essentially the reverse of this contest, with Byrd going all nine innings to take the win while Halladay took the loss.

With another matchup with Toronto coming just two series from now, Byrd will end up seeing these Jays in three straight starts. He doesn't seem too upset about that.

"Unlike your uncle at a neighborhood Wiffle ball game, I have six or seven pitches, and I mix it up, so I'll have to break out some new ones on these guys," Byrd said. "I think if you hit your spots and you make your pitches, in the long run, people just get out."

For now, he sits at 1-1 in the past week against the Blue Jays. And for his efforts with the Sox, Byrd is 0-1.

Given how he pitched in his first outing, which is true to form by Byrd standards, the Red Sox aren't worried. This is exactly the type of game they expected out of him when they brought him over from Cleveland.

"He really settled in and was able to pitch, and he kept us in the game," catcher Jason Varitek said. "And hopefully that's what we're going to get out of him."