ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Red Sox weren't going to pretend this was just one of 162. That was evidenced in the way they talked, and, more importantly, the way they played.

"We have no choice," said David Ortiz when it was suggested his team plays it's best when it counts the most.

"It's a big series," Marco Scutaro explained. "Everybody knows it."

"We definitely classified tonight as a big game," Mike Lowell added. "It's obviously a big series. This could be a significant turning point for us."

They knew it was big before, during and after what turned out to be a 3-1 Red Sox, series-opening win over the Rays at Tropicana Field. But realizing it and rising to the occasion are two different things. In this case the Sox did both.

There is a reason the Red Sox find themselves just 4 1/2 games behind both Tampa Bay and the Yankees -- the closest they've been to a playoff spot since July 7 -- despite the absence of three of the top four hitters in their lineup. And Friday night offered the perfect example why this is the case. Say what you want about the deficiencies of this club, but there is one chunk of foundation that remains firmly intact.

More times than not,  the best is going to be brought out in the biggest moments. 

"We have guys on this team who want to make a name for themselves," said one of those stepping up, starting pitcher Jon Lester. "A guy like Darnell (McDonald), I don't see how this guys hasn't been in the big leagues for longer than he us. Guys like that have gotten a chance to shine here and have taken advantage of it. Yeah, the core guys, a lot of them have been in the playoffs, have that experience and want to go back, which helps us. 

"But the biggest thing for us is taking one game at a time. It sounds stupid and it sounds cliche. It really is the biggest thing for us right now. The last 33 games we have to take one game at a time and come Oct. 4 we'll see where we're at. If we're throwing some champagne around that it will be great."

The Red Sox could very find themselves in the same position they began Friday in after Saturday night's game. As Lowell pointed out, they "aren't facing a high school pitcher" in Tampa Bay starter Matt Garza. But what they did do, regardless of the outcome of Game 2, is reinforce an identity that has sometimes gotten lost in the perceived running in place that has been chasing the Yanks and Rays.

The Sox needed players to play their biggest games in THE biggest game. And that is exactly what happened:

JON LESTER

The lefty has absolutely nothing to prove when it comes to stepping up when it counts. For that he can thank performances in the playoffs and World Series. But what truly showed the kind of determination that helped define the Red Sox on this night was Lester's ability to beat the best without his best.

“He was, I thought, overpowering when he needed to be,” said Rays third baseman Evan Longoria. “But yeah, I thought he just made pitches when he needed to. There was, again, times where he was 88 to 90 on the corners and then when he needed that 94 he brought it up a little bit. He was a little bit different Jon Lester than we normally see. That overpowering cutter in, 94-95 mph fastball, but he figured out a way to do it with what he had.”

However he did it, it worked.

Lester went seven innings, throwing 106 pitches, striking out 10 and walking five while giving up just two hits. Twice he got double-play grounders. Once he prevented a Rays' runner (Sean Rodriguez) from stealing third by cutting him down himself. And just one time did the lefty allow a Rays hitter to claim a base hit in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Most importantly, Lester did just enough to out-pitch one of the big leagues' best: David Price.

“I think he walked five but once they got the baserunners on, he made some unbelievable pitches," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "How many times have we seen Longoria come up in those same situations and he just continued to make, especially against him. He got some double plays, he got some strikeouts. Pitching out of the stretch a lot. but he really made some good pitches.”

VICTOR MARTINEZ

The two solo home runs were certainly noteworthy, especially considering he had hit just one long ball since coming back from his thumb injury on July 26. But there was something else which helped define Martinez' performance.

"I thought Victor caught the game of his life," Francona said. "He was all over the place tonight. I thought he did a great job. There were a lot of good things that happened tonight.”

Martinez' first-inning homer was huge for the Red Sox, who desperately needed some early optimism against a pitcher in Price who had controlled the Sox in his previous three starts against Francona's club. But the catcher's second blast was nothing to scoff at either considering it gave the Sox a much-needed insurance run heading into the last three innings.

In between Martinez made his mark defensively, most notably blocking the plate as B.J. Upton attempted to score the game-tying run in the sixth inning on Jason Bartlett's single. The catcher -- who was once described by Red Sox catching instructor Gary Tuck as the best plate-blocking backstop the coach has ever seen -- adeptly gathered in the throw from McDonald and steered the baserunner just out of the way enough to make the tag.

"A lot of times things get overlooked of how good a catcher he is because he doesn't throw guys out.. But that's more of a stat for us pitchers than catchers because they steal the base off of us, not him," Lester said. "I think how good a defensive catcher he is gets overlooked because of that one stat."