Boston catcher Jason Varitek runs toward first base after lacing the game-deciding RBI single in the eighth inning Tuesday.

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BOSTON — Jason Varitek finally delivered a big hit. So did a few of his teammates.

Varitek began working his way out of a long slump and the Boston Red Sox emerged from a short one, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 Tuesday night with a four-run eighth inning capped by the captain's go-ahead single.

"I had some feeble at-bats over a few weeks and I had some really good ones," said Varitek, who was 1-for-30 before his decisive hit.

He's also had some tough breaks, hitting the ball hard for outs. With runners at first and second and two outs in the first, he lined a ball up the middle that hit pitcher Doug Davis and ricocheted to shortstop Stephen Drew, who threw out Varitek at first.

"Tek's been a little bit unlucky," said Mike Lowell, whose two-run double tied the game at 4. "He's hit better than just those numbers, but it always feels good for a ball to drop, especially in a big situation."

They were dropping all over the place in the eighth. Boston had six hits in the inning, one more than it totaled in the first seven and two more than the Red Sox managed in Monday night's 2-1 loss in the series opener. The win maintained their one-game lead in the AL East over Tampa Bay, which beat Florida 6-4.

Chris Smith (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings in relief of another rookie, Justin Masterson, for his first major league win.

Smith made his debut Saturday after beginning his career in the Boston organization in 2002.

"At some point you just don't think about it and then the next thing you know you're up here and you're racing 100 mph," he said.

Arizona led 4-1 going into the bottom of the eighth behind the pitching of Davis and the hitting of Chad Tracy, who singled home a run in the second and hit a three-run homer in the third.

"A couple of guys get on and it unraveled on us," Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said.

Dustin Pedroia's seventh homer in the first was the only run off Davis through seven innings.

But the left-hander allowed singles to the first two batters in the eighth, Julio Lugo and Jacoby Ellsbury, and was replaced by Chad Qualls (1-6). Pedroia singled in Lugo, but Qualls nearly got out of the jam by striking out J.D. Drew and retiring Manny Ramirez on a grounder to third.

Then, with runners at second and third, Lowell lined a 2-0 pitch over the head of left fielder Eric Byrnes. Ellsbury and Pedroia scored easily.

"It was supposed to be down and away," Qualls said. "It was down the middle and he hit it off the wall."

The switch-hitting Varitek then singled for his first RBI in nine games and his second hit in two nights after going 0-for-24.