SEATTLE - Yesterday afternoon, hours before the Red Sox began their series here with the Mariners, Boston manager Terry Francona restated his support for the slumping Jason Varitek.

Francona said he wouldn't pinch-hit for Varitek late in key situations, regardless of Varitek's nose-diving batting average. The Sox captain and No. 1 catcher entered last night with a .214 batting average and had gone more than five weeks since his last home run.

Then, as if to validate Francona's abiding faith, Varitek delivered a key two-run homer in the fifth inning last night to help send the Sox to a 4-0 shutout of the Mariners.

Varitek's previous homer had come June 11, some 83 at-bats and 24 games ago.

The switch-hitting Varitek hit the homer righthanded off Seattle lefty Jarrod Washburn. Of his eight homers, six have come lefthanded, but Varitek lately has looked better at the plate from the right side.

``It's a juggling act,'' he said of trying to keep sharp from both sides of the plate. ``Some things I do better from one side and some things I do better from the other.''

``That was great,'' said starter and winner Jon Lester of his batterymate's homer. ``He prides himself so much on catching [the staff] and calling the game that his hitting is almost secondary. But he had four quality at-bats tonight.''

In addition to the homer, Varitek had a third-inning single, a strikeout in the sixth, a walk in the eighth and a long flyout to center in the ninth.

Streaking Sox

      Dustin Pedroia wasted no time extended his road hitting streak to 22 games, with a first inning single. Only Nomar Gariciaparra (24 games in 1998) has a longer road hitting streak for Red Sox players since 1956. … Manny Ramirez extended his hitting streak to 10 straight, during which he’s hitting .500 (18-for-36). … Coco Crisp snapped an 0-for-21 stretch with his eighth inning single. He also had three walks, the second-best single game total of his career.