Red Sox Jason Varitek hangs onto the ball after tagging out Rays base runner Evan Longoria, left, trying to score on a single by Jason Bartlett during the second inning last night.

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AP / Charles Krupa

BOSTON — As the Red Sox waited for the rain to subside last night at Fenway, there was time enough to gain some perspective.

Even after a recent run of five games in which they scored a grand total of five runs and accounted for only one home run, the Red Sox still ranked fourth in the American League in runs scored, second in on-base percentage, fourth in total bases and fifth in slugging.

All of which suggests that their recent slump at the plate is both temporary and relatively insignificant. Remember, even as the team skidded at the plate, thanks to stellar starting pitching, they won two of those five games.

Mike Lowell, who led the Sox in RBI last season, missed the first three games of the downturn — and the 16 before those, too — and David Ortiz was unavailable for two of the five, thanks to discomfort in his surgically repaired knee.

Assorted injuries and sickness have also limited playing time for Jason Varitek, J.D. Drew and Jacoby Ellsbury. Some six weeks into the season, the team has been without its regular everyday lineup more often than not.

Even shorthanded, the Sox lineup has outperformed the Yankees’ batting order. While the Sox have averaged 4.53 runs per contest, the Yankees have managed 4.3 runs, and that number can be expected to fall with the loss of both Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada to the disabled list.

Until proven otherwise, the Sox’ duo of Ortiz and Manny Ramirez remains unmatched in either league. Despite a slow start in terms of batting average, Ortiz has managed to knock in 21 runs. Ramirez, who began poorly the last three seasons, is slugging .607, ranking him third in the league in that department.

In Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia, the Sox have the perfect table-setters. Ellsbury’s speed and athleticism give the Sox the leadoff hitter they’ve missed since Johnny Damon left after 2005 while Pedroia’s bat control and ability to make consistent contract give the Sox plenty of options at the top of the order.

Moreover, the recent dip included, the Red Sox continue to take full advantage of Fenway. Even with the meager output in the first three games of the current homestand, the Sox still lead the American League in home batting average (.292) and on-base percentage (.371).

If this were an old team, entirely dependent on aging sluggers, there might be cause for concern. But the influx of younger players like Ellsbury and Pedroia, the emergence of Kevin Youkilis — still only 29 — and the introduction — however brief — of Brandon Moss and Jed Lowrie has made the Sox a team in transition.

Even as Ramirez, Ortiz and Jason Varitek drift into their mid-30s, they continue to produce.

How much the Sox can count on Drew, meanwhile, remains subject to debate. Drew seemed both more comfortable and more productive when he was dropped lower in the order in the second half of last season.

Freed from the pressure of hitting fifth and providing protection for Ortiz and Ramirez, Drew flourished. But his availability seems to be an almost daily issue — he’s missed the last three games with a quad strain — and so, too, is his ability to produce runs. Playing half his games in a good hitter’s ballpark that is especially suited for lefty hitters capable of going the other way and surrounded by others willing to shoulder the offensive load, Drew drove in a paltry 64 runs in his first season with the Sox.

Julio Lugo, anchored to the ninth spot, provides speed, but little else. But then, the Sox needn’t rely much on the lower third of the order — not with the potency provided by their first six or so hitters.

Somewhat lost as the team scuffles in the early going is the club’s ability to win close, low-scoring games when necessary — a function of their starters’ consistency and the tandem of Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon at the back end of the bullpen.

That’s a fallback position that other teams don’t have when the inevitable offensive slowdowns occur. And frankly, given the Sox overall talent, not even the latter should ever last long.

smcadam@projo.com