Then came Jered Weaver, the early favorite for the honor this season after racing to a 6-0 start with a 0.99 ERA.
Weaver's teammate with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Dan Haren, followed. He brought his own ERA down toward 1.00 before the Red Sox got to him in the late innings.
In perhaps the best indication that Boston has turned a corner from its ugly start, the club won all three encounters with the "aces" of the American League West. The 7-3 win over Haren and the Angels on Tuesday was the capper to a formidable stretch for the once-struggling Sox.
"You go into those games probably knowing you're not going to knock them around, but we found ways to beat them," said manager Terry Francona. "I hope everybody we face brings out the best. That's some of the best pitching in baseball, and they're hot. It's a tough chore."
Although Hernandez had a no-decision in a 3-2 loss, the Red Sox made the tough chores look a little easier against Weaver and Haren, who gave up a total of seven earned runs in 13 innings vs. Boston.
The tandem had yielded only a combined 11 earned runs in their previous 99 2/3 innings this season.
On Tuesday, the contributions came from all over the place. Adrian Gonzalez, one of five Red Sox starters with two hits, singled in the first run of the night, scored the second and slugged his first Fenway Park home run during a four-run outburst in the eighth. David Ortiz added his second home run in as many nights, Marco Scutaro had his first of the season, Jarrod Saltalamacchia had a big RBI double and Carl Crawford added two more hits and scored once.
That the team has scored 16 runs on 23 hits in two nights is one thing. That it has occurred against some of the best the league has to offer has the Red Sox feeling extremely good about themselves right now.
"Any win is a great win but when you're beating the other team's ace, that's always a plus," said Saltalamacchia.
Gonzalez sees this three-game winning streak as a potential building block.
"It's a great sign," he said. "It's something we can definitely move forward with."
There will be other top-flight hurlers in the way going forward. The remaining six games of the current homestand features Ervin Santana and Carl Pavano, both 17-game winners last year, as well as Francisco Liriano, who just threw a no-hitter for Minnesota, and three others whose combined ERA this year is 2.86.
Because of what has occurred over the last three days at Fenway Park, those guys are in for a tough test.
