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May 28, 2007

Game Story: Schilling pitches Red Sox past Indians

So maybe Super Curt isn't that bad after all.

Answering his critics with one of his strongest outings of the season, Curt Schilling dominated the Cleveland Indians and pitched the Red Sox to a 5-3 win last night at Fenway Park.

The win is Boston's fourth in a row and fifth in its last six games.

Schilling was superb from his opening pitch, baffling the Indians with a sharp, diving split-fingered fastball, a 90-plus mile an hour fastball and a slick change-up. When he left the game with a 4-1 lead, the Fenway fans gave him a well-deserved standing ovation.

Boston's shaky middle relief corps (excepting Hideki Okajima, of course) made those fans and Schilling sweat once the big righty hit the showers. J.C. Romero walked the only two hitters he faced to open the eighth inning. Javier Lopez came on to get two big outs but one was a sacrifice fly by old friend Trot Nixon to center that plated a run and sliced Schilling's lead to 4-2. Brendan Donnelly retired the final batter in the eighth but the ninth didn't go smoothly either, even with Jonathan Papelbon taking the mound.

The Sox closer surrendered a painful leadoff walk and then a single and an RBI double that cut Boston's lead to 5-3 and brought Cleveland star Grady Sizemore to the plate with two runners in scoring position. But that's when Papelbon found his game.

First he got Sizemore to pop out to third base. Then Casey Blake swung at a two-strike pitch that clearly hit him on his hands. The umpire at first ruled that Blake was to take first base but he was over-ruled and Blake was called out.

``Originally they ruled it hit him, which it did,'' said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. ``Our contention was that he swung, which he did. That's what they checked and fortunately for us (the call was changed). That's big, big for us. We were in a bind.''

With the call going in his favor, Papelbon responded by blowing away Travis Hafner with first a 96 and then a 97-mile an hour fastball to end the game and secure his 13th save of the season.

The tense moments nearly over-shadowed an excellent performance by Schilling. He struck out a season-high 10 hitters, most with a sharp split-fingered fastball that fell from the strike zone at the last possible moment. The last time Schilling struck out 10 or more hitters was last June 24th.

``He really threw in my opinion, his best split of the year,'' said Francona. ``He really pitched. To put up zeroes right to the end against a team that good, that's a really good effort.''

Schilling was coming off his worst performance of the season last week at Yankee Stadium when the Yanks scored pounded out 12 hits and scored six runs over six innings to win easily, 6-1.

The Yankees jumped Schilling, with Hideki Matsui slamming a 2-run homer in the first inning and light-hitting Doug Mientkiewicz hitting a solo blast in the fourth inning.

The next day, Schilling was treated to some stark criticism during his weekly Boston radio appearance. Detractors pointed out that Schilling's most recent outings showed a disturbing trend where he wasn't striking hitters out (an average of five per start) and couldn't keep them from putting good wood (7.4 hits per start) on his pitches. A proud, or even cocky veteran, Schilling didn't take well to the criticism.

He admitted to not being happy with his performance but to bounce back with such a strong effort against a strout offensive team like the Indians is certainly a positive sign. He says some heavy work with pitching coach John Farrell in recent days led to a revitalized split-fingered fastball.

``I haven't had that split since probably 2001 or '02. Not even close,'' he said. Schilling said Farrell worked on several slight changes to his motion that he made sure to bring out to the mound. ``It's been a rough couple weeks for me from a performance standpoint. Anyone who knows me knows that it's 24-7 on my mind,'' he said. ``We made some adjustments over the last seven, eight, 10 days. Hopefully I can look back on the last four days as a turning point for me, physically and mentally.''

The Red Sox gave Schilling all the support he needed in the middle innings. They scored two in the fourth off the Indians' starter, Cliff Lee (2-2) when Kevin Youkilis, J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell all doubled. Drew knocked in Youkilis and Lowell plated Drew to give Boston a 2-0 lead.

Manny Ramirez made it 3-0 in the fifth with a line drive rocket homer to left.

Cleveland's only uprising off Schilling came in the sixth inning when Blake doubled to left and Victor Martinez singled him in.

The Sox added a significant, and thrilling, insurance run in the seventh when Kevin Youkilis drove a Roberto Hernandez pitch to the triangle in center that bounded away from Sizemore. Youkilis flew around the bases and giddily ran through the windmill sign from third base coach De Marlo Hale and easily scored on an inside-the-park home run. That pushed the Sox' lead to 4-1 and allowed Schilling to leave with a comfortable lead.

The shaky bullpen nearly blew the lead but the Red Sox winning ways continued.

--KEVIN McNAMARA

Posted by Corey Bourassa at 11:07 PM | Permalink

FINAL: Boston 5, Cleveland 3

Behind seven innings of one-run pitching from Curt Schilling and home runs by Manny Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis, the Red Sox won their series opener with Cleveland, 5-3.

Jonathan Paplebon had a rocky outing but picked up his 13th save of the season to seal the victory.

Schilling scattered six hits over his 117-pitch start, a nice recovery from his last start, when he gave up 12 hits in a loss to the Yankees.

J.D. Drew broke out of his slump with an RBI double in the fourth; Ramirez had a solo home run to the Monster seats in the fifth, and Youkilis had his first career inside-the-park homer in the seventh.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 10:21 PM | Permalink

Interesting bit of drama

We're not sure what just happened -- we're waiting for an explanation -- but we're not sure that the call made on Casey Blake just now was the right one.

Blake was just charged with a strikeout officially, but in live action and on replay it was clear that the Jonathan Paplebon's pitch hit off something, whether it was the end of Blake's bat or his hands.

Either way, it was not a strikeout.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 10:19 PM | Permalink

Game Story: PawSox 2, Chiefs 1

It’s all about being confident.

PawSox starter David Pauley knows that all too well, and he’s quickly learned how to harness it in order to control a game and have success at the same time. Last night was a perfect example.

The soon-to-be 24-year-old (June 17) worked 6 1/3 innings last night and allowed one unearned run on four hits with no walks and three strikeouts to help Pawtucket to a 2-1 victory over the Columbus Clippers at McCoy Stadium.

After allowing a lead-off single to Clippers Brandon Watson, followed by an error, Pauley retired the next 11 batters he faced.

With Pawtucket hanging on to a one-run lead, Pauley loaded the bases with one out. He collected his third strikeout of the game for the inning’s second out before making a fielding error on a chopper to the right side that allowed a run to score.

A year ago, the game would have spun out of control on him, but he didn’t allow that to happen last night. He composed himself and snared another come-backer and made the play to end the inning.

“He had a real nice outing,” said Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson. “I was really impressed with his pitch efficiency and the command of his stuff. I was very pleased with his mound presence and composure. I’m seeing a lot of maturity come out with all of our young pitchers, and you saw it again tonight.”

Pauley was able to throw his curveball for strikes, a pitch he says hasn’t been working for him as much as he would like. The right-hander was able to keep the ball down in the zone and controlled the game at his pace.

“I had good stuff tonight from my eyes,” said Pauley, who improves to 2-1. “It’s something I’ve taken on myself this year being able to control the game at my own pace and not let the situation dictate what’s going on. I’ve told myself to ‘take a breath and get this out.’ Slow the game back down and going after the hitters instead of worrying about what could happen.”

After he got out of a jam relatively unscathed in the fifth, he retired the next four batters he faced before he was given the hook after 90 pitches (57 strikes). The PawSox bullpen of Craig Breslow, Edgar Martinez and Travis Hughes (third save of the season) finished the job to help Pawtucket snap a two-game losing skid.

The necessary offense for the PawSox was provided by Joe McEwing and Ed Rogers, who accounted for a RBI each.

For Pauley, it was his most efficient outing of the season.

He’s based his success this year with the experiences from a season ago in the Red Sox organization as he pitched at three different levels, including Double-A, the majors and Triple-A in that order. Pauley made his major-league debut for the Red Sox in Toronto on May 31 and eventually made two others, including a stellar performance at Yankee Stadium before he was optioned to Pawtucket on June 11.

After a 1-3 record with a 5.54 ERA in nine starts with the PawSox in 2006, his season ended with a forearm strain on Aug. 2. Basically, it was a season of ups and downs for Pauley and when he looks back, he realizes it was an invaluable learning experience.

“It was a big help,” he said. “When you get put into a situation like that, there are a lot of things you have to deal with up there. You have to learn over time and when you get out there consistently, you know what pitches to go to and you’re not stressed about what’s going to happen.”

--JOE McDONALD

Posted by Corey Bourassa at 9:52 PM to PawSox | Permalink

Youkilis goes yard...sort of

Kevin Youkilis just drilled an inside-the-park homerun to the triangle in centerfield. The ball bounced off the sidewall of the Sox' bullpen and rolled in front of the garage door before it was picked up.

Youkilis showed some giddy-up getting around the bases, and was at third before the ball was fielded. He came into home plate standing up.

It was the first inside-the-park homer for Boston since man-of-the-night Trot Nixon had one on July 15, 2005 against the Yankees at Fenway Park, and the first that Cleveland has allowed since Sept. 17, 2004 against Kansas City.

The last Red Sox player to have an inside-the-park homer against the Indians was John Kennedy, on July 5, 1970. Colleague Bob Ryan of the Globe tells us it was Kennedy's first at-bat with the Red Sox.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 9:27 PM | Permalink

Schilling out after seven innings

Curt Schilling's night has ended after seven innings, 117 pitches (77 strikes), and allowing just one run.

Schilling scattered six hits, and his 10 strikeouts were a season-high.

It appears that J.C. Romero will start the eighth inning.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 9:19 PM | Permalink

FINAL: Pawtucket 2, Columbus 1

PAWTUCKET -- The PawSox received a solid outing from starter David Pauley en route to a 2-1 victory over Columbus in the first game of a four-game set last night at McCoy Stadium.

Pauley worked 6 1/3 innings and allowed just one unearned run on four hits with no walks and three strikeouts. Joe McEwing and Ed Rogers provided the RBI for Pawtucket.

Posted by Joe McDonald at 8:35 PM | Permalink

Youkilis extends streak

Kevin Youkilis' ground-rule double to right field off Cliff Lee extended his career-best hitting streak to 20 games.

The first baseman (whom Trot Nixon joked earlier today "has the biggest chin in the world") is 38-for-86 (.442) with 12 doubles, four home runs and 18 RBI during the stretch, which began on May 5.

It is the 37th hitting streak of 20 or more games in Red Sox history; the last was by Manny Ramirez last season. Ramirez' 27-game streak went from July 15-August 12.

Youkilis is now tied with Seattle's Ichiro Suziki for the longest active hitting streak in baseball; the Mariners begin play against the Angels in about an hour.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 8:10 PM | Permalink

Clemens throws six shutout innings in Triple-A start

Roger Clemens pitched six shutout innings in Triple-A on Monday, leaving to a standing ovation from an overflow crowd in what the New York Yankees hope is his final start in the minors.

Clemens showed improved command from his last outing at Double-A, this time giving up two hits and two walks for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 44-year-old ace struck out six against Toledo in his third tuneup.

New York began the day 121/2 games behind Boston in the AL East. On Sunday, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said the team would evaluate Clemens' performance Monday before deciding when he would join them.

All told, the seven-time Cy Young winner threw 89 pitches, 58 for strikes. His two walks came on full-count pitches and he was primarily in the strike zone when he needed to be. He struck out Timo Perez to end the first, and fanned at least one batter in each inning except the sixth.
Clemens gave up a sharply hit single in the second and a ground single in the sixth, and never allowed more than one runner in an inning.

Clemens' control was a concern at Trenton last week when he walked four and allowed six hits and three runs over 5 1-3 innings.

In the opening inning against Toledo, Clemens got two weak grounders and struck out Perez on a split-finger fastball.

The second inning started with a 10-pitch at-bat by Ryan Raburn — Clemens had thrown a total of 12 pitches the entire first inning — before a popout. With two outs, Mike Hessman got the Mud Hens' first hit of the game, lining a 1-2 pitch into left field for a single. Ramon Santiago then struck out.

In the sixth, the Mud Hens got their second hit on a ground ball that first baseman Eric Duncan knocked down but couldn't turn into an out.

Raburn grounded out to end the inning, sending Clemens off the field to a loud ovation from the crowd of 11,310, a number that's 1,000 over capacity at PNC Field, where the team sold standing-room-only tickets for the first time this season.

--AP

Posted by Corey Bourassa at 7:34 PM | Permalink

First at-bat for Nixon

Trot Nixon received another rousing standing ovation from the crowd here as he was introduced before his first at-bat, and it only got louder when he removed his batting helmet to acknowledge them.

Nixon singled to familiar territory, right field.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 7:27 PM | Permalink

Nixon honored with Jimmy Fund Award

Trot Nixon is on the field right now for a special pre-game ceremony in which he and wife Kathryn are receiving the 2007 Jimmy Fund Award from the Red Sox for their many years of service to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund.

Head of the Jimmy Fund, Mike Andrews, Sox principal owner John Henry and manager Terry Francona joined the Nixons on the field as they received their plaque, and a video retrospective of Nixon's work with the Jimmy Fund and from his days with Boston were shown. On the message board it says, "Welcome back and Welcome Always Kathryn and Trot Nixon."

Kathryn, who was crying during the presentation, threw out the game's ceremonial first pitch to Doug Mirabelli.

They received a very warm ovation from the Fenway crowd.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 6:59 PM | Permalink

Trot Nixon chats

Former Red Sox outfielder Trot Nixon just held a lengthy chat with the media, though this was from the visitor's dugout at Fenway, as Nixon is back in Boston for the first time since signing with Cleveland in the offseason.

A member of the Red Sox organization for 13 years, Nixon said he had never been in the visitor's clubhouse until today. Actually, navigating the Indians' home clubhouse ("It's huge," he said) was one of the things that took some adjusting to for Nixon, along with learning everyone's names and jobs in the Cleveland organization.

The rightfielder, remembered for his pine-tar covered batting helmet and all-out hustle on the field, said he harbors no ill will toward the Red Sox for not signing him and instead signing the very expensive -- and seriously slumping -- J.D. Drew.

After undergoing back surgery and not being signed by Cleveland until Jan. 19, Nixon sort of fell in love with baseball all over again.

"What happened to me in the offseason, it opened my eyes to how special this game is, how fun it is," he said. "It opened my eyes to how much I love this game."

Nixon would have been open to starting the season in triple-A and then moving up to the big leagues if that is how things had turned out, but he is "very thankful" for the opportunity the Indians have given him and is glad that the team is having so much success early (their 31-17 record is second to Boston in the A.L.).

"It's a phenomenal group of guys, veterans, young guys, young guys that have been here for four or five years. There's a tremendous amount of talent in the organization," he said.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 5:18 PM | Permalink

Francona's pre-game chat

Terry Francona wrapped up his pre-game chat with the print media a few minutes ago.

Among the topics he touched on:

* David Ortiz is getting the day off again to rest his sore hamstrings.Francona said Ortiz's problems began about 10 days ago when he fell ill and also became dehydrated.

"It could be me being overly protective, but we want to make sure he's (fine) for the long run."

Francona is not sure if Ortiz will play tomorrow.

* Mike Timlin will throw one inning each with Pawtucket on Tuesday and Thursday.

"He needs to get his touch and feel back; he needs more repitition," Francona said.

* Jon Lester will start tomorrow for the PawSox and throw 80-85 pitches.

* When Josh Beckett returns tomorrow he won't have restrictions, but "we'll use our head," Francona said.

"He could have pitched last week, but we did this (stint on the 15-day DL) so there are no restrictions and he could be the pitcher he is."

* On Trot Nixon, who comes to Fenway as a visitor for the first time tonight:

"He'd play hurt, he'd play...anything. He's down and dirty, kind of a throwback. I'm sure he'll get a great ovation - as he should. Then I hope he rolls into a double play."

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 3:44 PM | Permalink