ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Five walks. Believe it or not, these were what offered the ultimate reminders of how far Jon Lester has come.

Sure, in Tuesday night's Red Sox 2-0 win over the Rays at Tropicana Field, Lester struck out nine. But that's something he had already done 17 times before, including three other occasions this season.

And while giving up one hit over six innings was impressive -- marking just the sixth time in the lefty's career he has limited his opponent to so little offense -- it still wasn't what should be focused on.

No, the five walks were the thing.

Lester, you see, hadn't issued that many free passes since April 14, 2008. And it was that day -- in many ways -- where the pitcher you saw Tuesday night was born. Those five walks and these five walks might have well been thrown by a completely different pitcher and person.

"It was," said Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell when asked if he believed the Red Sox' 6-4 win over the Indians at Jacobs Field was the beginning of Lester's current run toward excellence.

"I believe that was the game he went through the first three innings and and then struggled starting the fourth inning. His own words at the time was he felt he was so far off from being a consistent pitcher. At the time he just didn't have a clear view of himself and really what his strengths were, and how talented he is."

After the game Lester didn't talk to the media. Even though the Red Sox had come back and won thanks to three ninth-inning runs, his frustration got the best of him. (Which, thanks to a talking to by Josh Beckett at the time, Lester has not done since.)

But it was the next day when the metamorphosis began, thanks to a meeting in the bullpen with his catcher, Jason Varitek, and pitching coach, Farrell.

"He came out the day and he was doing some drills on the mound, not feeling really good about himself," Farrell explained. "The gist of the conversation was to remind him how talented and good he was. That he was just a pitch away from running off a string, which he has done."

From that point on, Lester finished off '08 by going 15-4 with a 2.98 ERA, before rattling off two straight American League Division Series starts in which he allowed one run over a combined 14 innings.

Overall, since the pep talk in Cleveland, Lester has gone 35-14 with a 3.20 ERA. During that span only four pitchers in baseball (Roy Halladay, CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Tim Lincecum) have won more games.

And that leads us to Tuesday night.

"He's probably feeling a little different than the last time he walked five," Farrell said, looking over at his staff's ace.

"He's a power pitcher, so he's going to have some walks in there. But five days ago he threw probably the highest strike percentage in a game that he might have had in his career. He has come a long way, in large part because he clearly knows himself much more than he did at that time. It's a very rare package of abilities."

Farrell, for one, hasn't seen anything like it, from a lefty anyways. He can remember Greg Swindell's 18-win season in 1988, but that, according to the pitcher's former Cleveland teammate, couldn't compare the kind of package Lester most recently presented against the Rays.

"I'm just glad he's on our side," Farrell said.

And that's the point: In the 71 games Lester has pitched since that game in Cleveland he has developed a level that moments like this allow you to appreciate. 

The premise is arguable, but not ridiculous: We might officially be looking at the best left-handed pitcher in baseball.

The debate is a good one, even when narrowing it down to the American League East. You have to start with Sabathia, but for pure stuff and opponents' desire to stay away Tampa Bay's David Price and Ricky Romero of Toronto have entered into the equation.

But when looking at the resume Lester has built since that five-walk night in Cleveland, Tuesday night's win against the Rays at least gets bullet-pointed. Why? You have a pitcher in Lester who is, as we sit here, undeniably, the shut-down ace on his staff, and who is facing off with a top-of-the-rotation hurler from the Red Sox' intra-division rival. 

And he wins.

This is what the Red Sox pitching staff is cranking out:

A. Since 1952, this is the first time that the Red Sox have recorded two one-hit shutouts in the same week. Only once before had they recorded two in the same month (June 1976) in that span. 

B. In the 58 years of game logs on baseball-reference.com, the Sox have never had more than two one-hit shutouts in the same season. 

C. Sox starters have a 1.44 ERA in the last seven games, with a 6-1 record in that span. They have a .173 batting average against in that time. 

But with any such achievement there must be someone spear-heading the charge. That man is Lester, a notion that seemed implausible the last the time the lefty dished out five walks.

Lester has come a long way, and thanks to a box score showing five free passes we were reminded exactly how far the journey has been.