One clear sign that things are again right in the world of Josh Beckett: the 29-year-old ace was quoting WEEI.com blogger extraordinaire Curt Schilling rather than firing out frustrated expletives in his Saturday night postgame press conference.

“It was a five inning stint, but this was one of those games where you can throw five innings and feel okay because the game was shortened,” said Beckett. “As Curt Schilling would say, it’s the only time you can go out there and throw five innings and not feel like you’re kissing your sister.”

Beckett clearly wasn’t kissing any of his siblings while battling through both the elements and Tampa Bay hitters with a fastball that was trademark in its power and movement. The right-hander continued his steady progression over the last three starts on Saturday night after taking a major dip during the month of August, and it appears that the ace is again in possession of his full powers.

For the second straight start Beckett avoided giving up a home run ball at a windy, rainy Fenway Park, and the big game pitcher also racked up his 15^th win of the season – his first victory since an Aug. 12 game at Fenway Park against the Detroit Tigers.

Beckett also notched his fourth complete game of the season with the five inning cheapie in a 9-1 rain-shortened win at the Fens (recap), and became the Sox hurler with the highest number of complete games since Pedro Martinez completed seven games back in 2000. Beckett allowed four hits and a single run while fanning four Rays batters, and appeared in total command from the get-go.

“There was solid power in his stuff tonight,” said Sox pitching coach John Farrell. “It was all related to getting better location in the bottom of the zone. There was never a physical issue involved here.

“It was more a matter of a little bit of a timing mechanism in his delivery where there was a willingness to try and go out there to get more velocity when it was working against him in one respect. I think he’s also trusting his stuff a little more to where he doesn’t have to overthrow, and in the past 2½ games he’s been more consistent repeating his delivery and making pitches in that regard.”

That is good news for a Red Sox team that wasn’t going anywhere this fall unless vintage Beckett reappeared on the Boston scene.

Beckett was indeed close to vintage from the very first inning when he set down the Rays lineup with a 1-2-3 inning and pounded down in the strike zone with his two-seam fastball along with a curveball and change-up mix. The big right-hander made it through all five innings before the umpires opted to call the game for good in the top of the sixth inning following anEvan Longoria leadoff double.

Longoria slid and stumbled as he sped into second base and tried to put on the brakes at the bag after rocking the ball into left-centerfield, and that slide on the wet infield seemed to prompt the play stoppage in the middle of the inning. Following the 2 hour and 5 minute delay to start the game and a 55-minute rain pause following that stoppage in the top of the sixth, the game was finally, mercifully called as a regulation 9-1 win for the Sox at soggy, sloppy, puddle-filled Fenway. The story wasn't the rain, however. It was Beckett fully in command again after a month of searching for himself.

“I feel like I did some things that I worked on between starts, and I was able to take it to the mound with me,” said Beckett.

Beckett’s mound revival – albeit one of the five inning variety following his 78-pitch effort – not only bodes well for the Sox hurler getting back on track with a win, but it also helped the Sox gain another game on the losing Texas Rangers squad in the AL Wild Card standings. Knowing that Beckett is back in place at the top of Boston’s starting rotation gave the Sox an indication of promise and potential moving forward.

“He threw the ball well and good to get the win there for him,” said Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis. “Hopefully that will bring his confidence even higher into his next start. We’re going to need him at the top of his game from here on out.”

With Beckett firmly back in the saddle after a short month of struggle, here are four other things we learned on a night that featured more unwelcomed rain at the ballpark.

DAISUKE MATSUZAKA COULD BE THE PLAYOFF ‘X FACTOR’

On Tuesday, Daisuke Matsuzaka will make his first big-league start since landing on the 15-day disabled list on June 19 with a slightly strained right shoulder. On Saturday afternoon he described himself as appropriately "excited" about pitching in Boston again.

The 29-year-old (today is his birthday) is going out with realistic expectations, and brushed aside talk about making statements concerning his worthiness for potential Sox playoff rosters. Matsuzaka was 1-5 with an 8.23 ERA in eight early season starts before hitting the DL, and was a shell of himself this season after participating in the World Baseball Classic and following that by showing up at spring training out of shape.

"I know that it took me some time to get here, but I also feel that I was able to use that time to get prepared really well," said Matsuzaka through translator Masa Hoshino. "I just hope that I can apply all those things that I was preparing for. I don't think it's necessary to think that far ahead (to the playoffs) right now. I'd like to focus everything I have on my upcoming start. We're at a point in the season where every win is so important.”

Matsuzaka said that he’s learned from every single experience along the way this season in a very disappointing year overall, and Farrell thinks that an effective Japanese hurler could be somebody heard from when the playoff bullets start flying.

“The credit goes to him for the work that he’s put in to allow himself the ability to contribute for the rest of the season,” said Farrell, when asked if Matsuzaka could potentially help in a playoff scenario. “I think that’s a very real possibility. That progression continues, and all signs are positive. He could really give us a boost in the arm here when he steps back into the rotation. Anytime you’re adding a 15-18 game winner to your rotation, it’s a positive.”

THE SOX ARE STILL HOLDING AN OPEN CASTING CALL FOR THEIR NO. 4 AND 5 STARTERS

The starting rotation beyond Beckett and Jon Lester has been a challenging situation for Sox manager Terry Francona all season long. Some of the players have been phased in and out of consideration, and that carousel seems to be continuing during the month of September.

Long gone are John Smoltz and Brad Penny to the easier pitching path of success in the senior circuit. Sox skipper Terry Francona instead is choosing his No. 4 and No. 5 starters between pitchers that are A) heroically pitching their way through painful injury (Tim Wakefield), B) looking to redeem themselves after spending an entire season as the biggest of question mark while building up shoulder strength in Florida (Matsuzaka) or C) trying to buck the biggest odds after sitting out all of spring training and then the first five months of the season to spend time with his family (Byrd).

It’s a unique situation given their inside track to a playoff spot this season, and Francona truly doesn’t know what they would do in a playoff rotation beyond Beckett, Lester and Clay Buchholz if and when it comes to that. Sox officials are excited to see Matsuzaka as a potential piece that could slide in after the Big Three and make for a solid postseason quartet.

“The trap we don’t want to fall into is that if (Matsuzaka) throws seven good innings, the Hall of Fame thing as opposed to if he gets knocked around a little bit,” said Francona. “Most likely it’ll be somewhere in between, but it’ll be real interesting to watch. It’s kind of a unique situation where we’re around Sept. 15 right now and we’ve had some different pitching situations this year.

“If he pitches badly then it could hurt our short term goals, sure, but if (Matsuzaka) pitches good then it could really help us. Short term it could be really beneficial. We’re at a point in the season where we have other options (at starter), but I think we’re okay.”   

IT MAY BE TIME TO LOOK AT ALEX GONZALEZ’ OFFENSE AS SOMETHING MORE THAN AN ABERRATION

Gonzalez was viewed as strictly a defensive addition to the lineup when the Sox acquired the shortstop from the Cincinnati Reds in a mid-August waiver deal, but it might just be time to ratchet up the offensive expectations for his bat at the bottom of the lineup. The 32-year-old shortstop was in the middle of things offensively again in Saturday night’s win when he smashed a three-run double in the eight run offensive outburst off Tampa Bay phenom Wade Davis.

Gonzalez has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games at a .333 clip with five doubles and three home runs and 8 RBIs during that time span, and is coming up to the plate with runners on base in seemingly every big spot.

“They’ve got guys batting No. 3 and No. 4 already,” said Gonzalez with a smile. “I’ve always got to be ready and aggressive because I know there are going to be a lot of runners on base in front of me. We’ve got a lot of guys with great on-base percentages in this lineup and I’m going to get my chances.”

It’s clear that – be it because of good health or finally escaping the dreaded No. 8 spot in the lineup above the pitcher in the National League – Gonzalez is now far from the guy that hit .210 through much of the year with the Reds this summer. Maybe it's time to stop being surprised about it.

LESTER IS READY TO GO ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON AFTER A ‘GLORIFIED BULLPEN’

The 25-year-old Sox left-hander told reporters after Friday night’s game that he’d be ready to bounce back on Sunday should his arm feel okay, and Lester insisted that all systems were a go to start Sunday’s 5 p.m. nightcap portion of the day/night doubleheader.

The big southpaw threw 28 pitches in the first inning of Friday night’s game and loaded the bases before umpires called for a game stoppage because of the pounding rain. Francona indicated that Lester would start right back again on late Sunday afternoon given the nearly non-existent workload in Friday’s abbreviated outing, and the Sox hurler equated Friday to being potentially the world’s loudest and most well-attended bullpen session of all time.   

“You take Friday as almost like a glorified bullpen,” said Lester, who is 4-0 with a sub-3.00 ERA in his last nine starts for the Sox. “I don’t think it’s going to be a problem. It should actually help me somewhat because I’ll be getting back on the mound without those four days in between.

“If we get to the second or third inning (on Friday) then I think we’re pushing it a little, but 20 pitches? I don’t think this is going to be a problem.”

That’s a big break for the Sox, who certainly can’t afford to skip an entire Lester turn in the rotation with the Rangers still sitting three games back in the AL Wild Card race with less than three weeks remaining in the regular season.