Kevin Youkilis greets Jason Bay after Bay's two-run home run put the Red Sox ahead to stay.

The Providence Journal / Gretchen Ertl

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Who's your Daddy?

If it's the postseason, the Red Sox must be knocking around the Los Angeles Angels once again. The Sox continued their October torment of the Angels, beating the Halos for the 10th straight time last night by a convincing 4-1 count in the opening game of the American League Division Series.

The Red Sox extended their playoff win streak to eight straight games and sent a message to the rest of the baseball world that they won't be giving up their World Series crown easily. The formula this time featured a sterling seven-inning, one-run starting pitching effort from Jon Lester, a huge two-run homer by Jason Bay and several critical defensive plays that iced the game.

``I think we proved a lot," said Bay, who added an eighth-inning double to the sixth-inning homer that gave the Sox the lead for good, 2-1. ``A lot was made of Josh [Beckett] not pitching in that game, and I'm glad everyone got to see what Jon Lester has been doing all year. I don't think he got a lot of credit for it.''

Lester deserves all sorts of credit for pitching the Sox to the 1-0 series lead. Angels' starter John Lackey (0-1) pitched well by holding the Sox to two runs over 6.2 innings, but the Sox simply pitched better. Lester started slowly, working out of a bases-loaded jam in the first and allowing an unearned run in the third when two singles were sandwiched around a Jed Lowrie error at shortstop.

But Lester made the key pitches to escape further trouble in the third, he stranded two more runners in the fifth inning and then blew away the Angels by striking out five of the final six hitters he faced. Lester threw 117 pitches and has won his last two playoff starts, the first being the World Series clincher last fall in Denver.

``Johnny executed his pitches so good. This was a big, big start for us," said Mike Lowell. "When he had to make a pitch, he did. Whether it was a cutter or a curve ball, he hit his spots. He's a horse, man. He's proved it all year. This is a great tone for us to set."

Lester gave the ball and a 2-1 lead to Justin Masterson and the rookie survived an eventful eighth inning. Two more Boston runs in the top of the ninth pushed the lead to 4-1 and allowed Jonathan Papelbon to cruise to a three-strikeout save in the ninth.

Lester wasn't the only Red Sox to continue his string of postseason success. Jacoby Ellsbury dominated the Angels with his bat, feet and glove, lacing three hits, reaching base all five chances, stealing twice and making the catch of the game with a sliding grab in the eighth inning.

``He was phenomenal," said Dustin Pedroia. ``He takes over games with his speed. He's electric."

Ellsbury led off the game with a rocket double high off the wall in right-center, but he could not score. Lackey cruised through Boston's lineup for most of the next four innings as the Angels built a 1-0 lead. A walk to Kevin Youkilis in the sixth was followed by a two-out home run by Bay into the left field stands that not only gave the Sox a 2-1 lead but also took some of the hot, humid air out of the home crowd.

The Red Sox closed the game out with some outstanding defensive work. The two biggest plays both came in a critical eighth inning in support of reliever Masterson, who faced the unenviable task of entering a 2-1 game and staring down the meat of the Angel order.

First, he got Mark Teixeira to flip a short flare into centerfield. Ellsbury needed a full sprint, plus an athletic slide to settle under the ball for a great first-out catch. Asked if he thought he'd even get to the ball, Ellsbury smiled and said ``to be honest, no. I came in full speed and glanced over at [Jed] Lowrie and hoped he had a shot at it. I was just glad I got to it. It ended up being a big out."

Vladimir Guerrero followed with a hard, grounding single to left. Torii Hunter was next, and he blooped a ball over Youkilis' head just off the rightfield foul line. As Youkilis fell to the turf to lunge for the catch, he quickly rose and fired the ball to Mike Lowell at third. The throw caught Guerrero by at least 15 feet for an easy out, stunning a crowd that had to be sensing a growing rally.

``It was one of those plays where I had no idea where the ball was," Youkilis said. "It just popped into my glove, I jumped up and was glad to throw him out."

Masterson ended the inning by getting Howie Kendrick to ground into a force play. That opened the door for Papelbon to come into the game in the last of the ninth. By then the Sox had opened the game up with two huge insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Scot Shields, one of the key members of the Angels' bullpen, allowed RBI singles to Ellsbury and David Ortiz that pushed the lead to 4-1.

Papelbon then struck out the side in the ninth, sending a final message to the Angels that the calendar may read 2008, but the Red Sox' mastery of this franchise continues.