Jon Lester of the Sox tosses the ball to first baseman Kevin Youkilis to get the Blue Jays’ Alex Rios in the first inning.

The Providence Journal / Gretchen Ertl

BOSTON — There was a return to old-fashioned baseball last night at Fenway Park, a dazzling pitching duel that was decided by both a great defensive play and a clutch hit in the ninth inning.

The pitching came from Boston’s Jon Lester and Toronto’s Roy Halladay. Both were superb. The defensive gem and game-winning hit were supplied by the Red Sox, with Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis doing the honors.

It all added up to a thrilling 1-0 Red Sox victory over the Blue Jays in a contest played in a rapid two hours and 18 minutes. The win also ended Boston’s five-game losing streak.

It was not exactly the way the Red Sox usually break a bad streak, but it was a great show for baseball purists.

Halladay and Lester dominated so much early on that all but one of the game’s first 23 outs were made in the infield or on strikeouts. The first outfield putout by either team came when Vernon Wells’ caught a routine fly ball by Manny Ramirez for the final out in the bottom of the fourth.

The only other ball to leave the infield in the first four innings was a single to center by Youkilis in the second. Boston’s first outfield putout came when Lyle Overbay’s drive to right-center was hauled in by Brandon Moss. Neither team got a runner past first base until the ninth inning.

“Both guys on the mound, Lester and Doc (Halladay), did their thing,” said Toronto manager John Gibbons. “Great pitching on both sides is basically what it came down to.”

The Red Sox lavishly praised Halladay.

“It might have been the best we’ve ever seen him,” Sox manager Terry Francona said.

On this night, Lester was equally outstanding, allowing only one hit in eight innings.

“The thing Jon did so well tonight was throw a lot of first-pitch strikes,” Francona said. “He had balls going both directions with velocity and command.”

“He had a good changeup form the first inning on,” said pitching coach John Farrell. “It was a pitch he felt comfortable after the first two or three innings against the Angels in his last outing. It’s become a pitch he has gained some confidence in. It gives a little bit different look to the opposition. It allows him to slow some bats down.”

Lester used the changeup a lot early on but later mixed in more fastballs and cutters. He said he gained confidence as he went along.

“It seems like the further I get into games the more comfortable I get with my stuff,” he said.

He matched his career-best, going eight innings while allowing only one hit with four walks and six strikeouts. Since Halladay was every bit as good, neither team had any offense until the final inning.

In the ninth, with Jonathan Papelbon on for Lester, Scott Rolen doubled with two outs. Vernon Wells followed with a hard shot up the middle.

“I just wanted to get to it and keep it in the infield,” Pedroia said. “I was fortunate enough to catch it and get an out.” It was a play much like the one he made to preserve Clay Buchholz’s no-hitter last year.

“That play there pretty much won us the ball game,” Papelbon said of Pedroia’s dive.

In the bottom of the inning, again with two outs, David Ortiz walked and Manny Ramirez singled him to second. Halladay said he pitched carefully to the two Sox sluggers.

“That’s a tough part of their lineup,” Halladay said. “Ortiz and Ramirez can end the game with one pitch. You want to be aggressive and go after them, but one pitch can end the game.”

The Sox had their first runner in scoring position all night. Youkilis did not waste the chance. He singled up the middle.

“I tried to get it in. I thought I got it in,” Halladay said.

Youkilis muscled it up the middle. Ortiz, with his bad knee, was waved home by third-base coach DeMarlo Hale, who had spoken about the possibility earlier with Francona.

“In the sixth inning it’s going to come down to sending somebody,” Francona recalled. “I said with the way Halladay is pitching, if we get a chance, go ahead and send him.”

Ortiz scored easily when Wells could not field the ball cleanly.

It was another ninth-inning win for Boston, just a very different way of getting to that point.

The Sox now have gone three games without an extra-base hit. They had not gone even two games like that since 2003.

With pitching, defense and a clutch hit like they had last night, they showed they do not always need the long ball to win.

pkenyon@projo.com