Kevin Millar has been a big part of this hot start by the Blue Jays, who have played far beyond expectations. But on a rare night when the potent Toronto lineup was silenced with eight superb innings by Tim Wakefield, Millar could only tip his cap to his old teammate.
"He's the most underrated pitcher of the last decade," said Millar.
Millar, one of the Red Sox' 2004 "Idiots," homered for the fourth time in 30 at-bats against Wakefield, providing the Blue Jays their only run in a 2-1 loss to the Sox last night in a game that lasted just 2:13.
Wakefield shut down a team that entered the game leading the league with a .289 average and leading the majors with 422 hits. Wakefield did it with a 65-mile-per-hour wiggly pitch and an occasional 75-m.p.h. "heater," one of which he blew past Marco Scutaro for strike three in the first inning.
Wakefield outdueled Brian Tallet, a 6-foot-6-inch lefthander who allowed four hits and two runs over six innings. Wakefield's effectiveness showed in the eight popups the Jays hit in eight innings.
"I was telling [catcher Rod] Barajas that there were a lot of popups and nubbers, which shows you how amazing the guy is throwing out there," said Millar. "I was just trying to see the ball, but when it's dancing like it was tonight, there's not a whole lot you can do with it.
"He had it working and I know from watching him and facing him over the years that if he's on a roll, you're just not going to get to him."
This was indeed one of those tip-your-cap nights from the opponent.
The Jays had come into Boston riding high, with a 3 1/2-game lead in the AL East after sweeping four games from the White Sox. They were 13 games over .500 for the first time since Aug. 12, 1999.
The surprise team in the American League, they seemed to turn the corner once Cito Gaston, who won back-to-back championships with the Jays in 1992 and 1993, took over on June 20, 2008. Since then, the Jays have gone 78-52 despite numerous pitching injuries.
Given the success of their offense, which has been rejuvenated under the aggressive philosophy of hitting coach Gene Tenace (who came on board after Gaston returned), what Wakefield did to them was even more extraordinary.
Other pitchers have had strong outings against this lineup. The Angels' Jered Weaver pitched a complete-game three-hitter and allowed them one run. The Royals' Brian Bannister pitched seven one-hit innings, though he walked six, and teammate Zack Greinke also pitched one of his gems against the Jays. Yankee lefties CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte pitched well against them last week in taking two out of three.
But Wakefield caught a hot team and silenced it.
"He's been tough on us over the years," said Gaston. "He wasn't different tonight. He was tough.
"We got some chances to beat him - one more hit, two more hits and we win that ballgame. Good ballgame, especially for them, but we didn't play that bad."
Which is why Gaston and the Jays weren't that demoralized. They figure Wakefield is either going to get hit hard or he's going to pitch a gem.
Gaston said if "it was somebody else out there who didn't throw a knuckleball, you might be a little disappointed. But on any given night, we can get held to five [hits], and we held them to six. They just got a couple of hits at the right time and we didn't."
Even in losing, the Jays have to be thrilled that Tallet submitted his fourth consecutive quality start.
But being a surprise team, the Jays have to keep proving they're for real. Before last night's loss, they had beaten the Orioles three straight and lost two out of three to the Yankees at home. The Jays have beaten up on the AL Central, with a 16-8 record, and are now 4-3 vs. the East.
In the weeks to come, everyone will watch for the fall, as they did with the Tampa Bay Rays last year. But it didn't happen.
In spring training, the Jays seemed to be building toward the future, but a funny thing happened on the way to 2010 - and that was 2009.
Millar actually said back in Dunedin, Fla., that this was the most professional clubhouse he'd ever been in.
Gaston has set the tone, and the Jays have managed to keep their positional players upright. Third baseman Scott Rolen has stayed healthy, along with Vernon Wells, Aaron Hill, Alex Rios, Adam Lind, Scutaro, Lyle Overbay, and Barajas. This is a team that has had problems staying healthy in recent years, so there's a collective "knock on wood" going on right now.
Sox manager Terry Francona acknowledged before last night's game that the Jays have entered the fray with Tampa Bay and the Yankees as contenders in the AL East. For the Sox to take the first game with such a muting of Toronto's offense is a big deal.
"We play them 18 times this year," said Millar, "and this was the first, and we lost it. We'll get our share of them."
Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com. 
