"All along, this is what the Red Sox were supposed to look like.

The master plan, conceived of by general manager Theo Epstein and financed by John Henry and his ownership partners, was supposed to yield a roster that would produce timely hitting throughout a deep lineup, shutdown pitching from five starters, and night after night after night of convincing victories.

Better three weeks late than never, the Red Sox have arrived.

The latest demonstration of their exceeding potential came last night, almost 3,000 miles from home, while most of New England was riveted to a double-overtime NHL playoff game. Daisuke Matsuzaka, maligned only 10 days ago, mustered another eight shutout innings, while the offense finally clicked in the Red Sox' most complete victory yet — a 5-0 dismantling of the Los Angeles Angels.

Remember that 2-10 start that had everybody wringing their hands? Well, make it four consecutive victories, seven in the last eight games and a 9-11 mark that has the Red Sox only a half-game out of second place.

"I think everyone's just getting comfortable around each other, and we're learning how to win with each other," still-sizzling shortstop Jed Lowrie said. "We're going in the right direction."

It all starts, of course, with the starters. And for more than a week, the rotation has been brilliant.

Over the past eight games, Red Sox starters have allowed six earned runs in 531/3 innings for a 1.01 ERA, the franchise's best run of starting pitching in 65 years. Not since 1946 have the Sox strung together eight consecutive games in which the starters have allowed two runs or fewer while throwing five innings or more."