Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia makes a diving stop of a line drive hit by the Diamondbacks’ Stephen Drew in the seventh inning of last night’s interleague game at Fenway Park.

The Providence Journal / Kris Craig

BOSTON — Doug is just a memory.

When Red Sox management made the decision to release Doug Mirabelli during spring training, no doubt it was a difficult day for Tim Wakefield. The two were battery mates for eight seasons. Wakefield threw his vintage knuckleball and Mirabelli would catch it.

It was that simple.

It got to a point, however, that the backup catching role in Boston was hurting and something needed to be done. So the Red Sox did it.

Enter Kevin Cash.

He had impressed management during his call-up in 2007 when Mirabelli was injured and proved very quickly that he could handle the knuckleball-catching duties. Not only could he receive the Dancing Dandy, but his game preparation also caught the eye of management.

Cash arrived at spring training primed and ready, and it wasn’t long before he was given the job to replace Mirabelli. Wakefield, a very close friend of Mirabelli’s, never held anything against Cash. That new relationship quickly matured and it has been very evident over Wakefield’s last six starts that the two are on the same page.

Wakefield improved to 5-5 with an outstanding performance against the Arizona Diamondbacks last night at Fenway Park. He worked seven scoreless innings and allowed only two hits with one walk and six strikeouts to lead Boston to a 5-0 victory.

“Even from spring training I knew Cash would do a good job,” said Wakefield. “Dougie and I worked together for eight years and it was sad to see him leave. On the other hand, I knew Cash would do a good job, and he’s done a great job since he’s taken over. The more we work together, the more comfortable he is calling certain pitches. … We’re working very well together and hopefully we can continue to do that.”

Not only did Cash do his job well behind the plate last night, but he also gave Boston a huge offensive boost in the eighth inning. The Red Sox held a 2-0 lead — thanks to a pair of RBI by Brandon Moss in the second and sixth innings — when Cash completely demolished an offering by Arizona reliever Juan Cruz for a three-run homer.

It was Cash’s first home run since June 21, 2005, at New York against Randy Johnson when he played for Tampa Bay. It ended a streak of 128 major-league at-bats without a homer.

“Cash’s homer was huge to put us up 5-0,” Wakefield saud. “I’m glad to see him swinging the bat. It was a huge home run for him and for us.”

It was a strange but rewarding night for Cash, 30, a former Blue Jays catching prospect.

With two on and one out in the sixth inning, Johnson, the Diamondbacks starter, intentionally walked Cash to get to Moss. It was the first time in Cash’s big-league career he was offered a free pass. Moss capitalized on a sacrifice fly to give Boston a 2-0 lead. Then Cash provided the fireworks in the eighth inning.

“I was asking guys if it was a full moon or something,” said Cash with a smile.

But there was nothing eerie about Cash’s performance last night.

“He’s here because he can catch,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “He can run a game and has good energy. But when he gives us some offense, it picks his spirits up, but it gave us three runs tonight. He’s got that in him.”

Wakefield has a 2.09 ERA while allowing only 10 earned runs in his last six starts (43 innings) and it’s obvious he’s locked in. Because of his recent success, interestingly, the Diamondbacks had former major-league knuckleball pitcher and current Arizona broadcaster Tom Candiotti, throw batting practice to the hitters yesterday afternoon. It didn’t help.

Wakefield is clearly in one of his yearly streaks and he stated as much after last night’s performance.

“I’ve felt really comfortable the last six starts,” he said. Pitching coach “John Farrell and I worked on my mechanics and figured something out and it seems to be working, so I’m not going to change anything. I’ve had runs like this before. I just want to keep it going.”

jmcdonal@projo.com