A little over two years ago I wrote that the ARod-Varitek shoving match may have been the turning point in the 2004 season. Did we see something similar last night?

Aside fro David Wells desperately needed pitching performance, Mike Lowell came up with a 'Tek-like inspirational moment. Lowell was beaned by Orioles rookie Adam Loewen in the first inning, the ball ricocheting off his helmet. For long-time Red Sox fans, it brought back memories of another #25 getting hit in the head with a fastball on an August night 39 years ago. Fortunately, Lowell was only shaken up and was able to stay in the game.

Then, a couple of innings later Lowell makes a spectacular catch, diving into the stands and landing in the first row of seats. The catch was reminiscent of Jeter's diving catch against the Sox in '04, although, as a Fenway observer noted in the Boston Globe, Jeter hadn't just gotten hit in the head when he made his catch.

Today the good news continued as the Sox came back from deficits of 5-1 and 7-3 to beat the O's on a Manny walkoff single in the 10th. I know it's only two wins against a bad Orioles team, but we have to start somewhere, right?