Schilling, Sox Drop Yankees (4/17/04)

The bad news was the Boston Celtics lost Game 1 of their first round NBA playoff series to the Indiana Pacers and the Boston Bruins lost Game 6 of their first round NHL playoff series. The good news was Curt Schilling (2-0, 2.66) ERA and the Boston Red Sox defeated the New York Yankees. The Sox traded for Schilling because of his reputation for a big game pitcher and Yankee killer, this game was no different. Curt dazzled the Yankees, pitching into the seventh inning and allowing just a run. Offensively the Sox got to Yankees starter Mike Mussina for four runs in just five innings. Manny Ramirez hit a home run in the fifth inning and a Johnny Damon rbi double in the eighth was more than enough insurance. Keith Foulke allowed his first run of the year in the ninth but the Sox had won the game anyway 5-2 at Fenway Park.

                                                 Eliza Dushku approves of the win

Schilling got the ball in the top of the first and Derek Jeter took strike three to start. Bernie Williams struck out swinging and Alex Rodriguez flied out to center to end the inning. Mussina got the ball in the bottom of the first and Johnny Damon watched strike three go by to start. Bill Mueller grounded out to second but David Ortiz got a base hit to center. Manny Ramirez forced Ortiz at second to end the inning.

Jason Giambi popped up to first in foul territory to start the top of the second and Gary Sheffield grounded out to short. Hideki Matsui walked and Jorge Posada smacked a ground rule double, but Tony Clark took strike three to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second as Kevin Millar grounded out to third to start. Jason Varitek and Mark Bellhorn drew back to back walks and Gabe Kapler dumped a base hit to right to load the bases. Damon walked to score Varitek and Mueller was hit with a pitch to score Bellhorn. Ortiz forced Mueller at second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.

                                                          Mueller gets hit to drive in a run

Enrique Wilson grounded out to third to start the top of the third before Jeter grounded out to short. Williams pounded a ground rule double down the right field line but A-Rod took strike three to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the third as Ramirez grounded out to short to start. Jeter booted a grounder by Millar for an error and Varitek actually reached first on a bunt single. Bellhorn got a base hit to right to load the bases and Millar scored on the Kapler grounder to third. Reese grounded out to third to end the inning but it was 3-0 Sox.

                                                 Bellhorn with the big hit

Giambi took strike three to start the top of the fourth before Sheffield walked. Matsui got a base hit to right but Posada grounded into a double play to end the inning. Damon got a base hit to left to start the bottom of the fourth but Mueller popped up to third. Ortiz popped up to A-Rod who doubled Damon off first to end the inning,

The Yankees got a run back in the top of the fifth as Clark of all people hit a home run to Barbados to cut the lead. Wilson grounded out to second, Jeter struck out swinging and Williams grounded out to third to end the inning with the Yankees down 3-1.

                                                           Clark hits one out

The Yankees answered in the bottom of the fifth as Ramirez slugged his third home run of the season to increase the lead. Millar walked and Varitek got a base hit to left, but Giambi doubled off Jason on a bullet hit by Bellhorn. Kapler grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-1.

                                                            Ramirez goes yard

A-Rod struck out swinging to open the top of the sixth but Giambi walked. Sheffield popped up to third in foul territory but Matsui singled to left. Posada walked to load the bases and Clark grounded out to first to end the inning. Donovan Osbourne came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Reese flied out to center to start. Damon struck out swinging but Mueller singled to left. Ortiz struck out swinging to end the inning.

Schilling returned briefly for the top of the seventh as Wilson blooped a single over Pokey's head to start. Jeter took strike three and that was it for Schilling. He allowed a single run in 6 1/3 innings allowing 6 hits and 4 walks. Mike Timlin came in and Williams walked, but A-Rod banged into a double play to end the inning.

                                                   Good work Schilling

Ramirez singled to center to start the bottom of the seventh but Millar flied out to right. Somehow Manny stole second but was doubled off second on a line drive to Wilson by Varitek to end the inning.

Timlin returned for the top of the eighth and Giambi grounded out to short to start. Sheffield grounded out to short and Matsui lined out to short to end the inning. The Sox wrapped up the scoring in the bottom of the eighth as Bellhorn was hit with a pitch to start. Bellhorn took off for second and Posada's throw went wide, allowing Mark to take third on the error. Kapler took strike three but Bellhorn was thrown out at home on a comebacker by Reese. Damon doubled off the Monster to score Pokey but Mueller struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 5-1.

                                                                 Damon drives in a run

Keith Foulke came in to pitch the top of the ninth with David McCarty taking over at first for Millar. Posada flied out to right but Clark struck out swinging. Ruben Sierra pinch hit for Wilson and lined a base hit to center. Sierra took second on defensive indifference and scored on the Jeter single to left. Jeter took second on defensive indifference but Williams grounded out to first to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-2.

                                                                 Sox win

Hero of the Night is Curt Schilling. He held the high powered Yankees to just 1 run in 6 1/3 innings. He allowed 6 hits, 4 walks and struck out eight batters.

                                                         Hero Schilling

The Good:

Johnny Damon was 2 for 4 with a walk and 2 rbis.

Manny Ramirez was 2 for 4 with a home run and a stolen base.

Jason Varitek was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.

Mark Bellhorn was 1 for 2 with a walk, hit by pitch, stolen base and a run scored.

Mike Timlin tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings.

The Bad:

Keith Foulke allowed a run in the ninth inning.

The Ugly:

Bill Mueller was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but was hit with a pitch and drove in a run.

David Ortiz was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.

Kevin Millar was 0 for 3 but walked and scored a run.

Gabe Kapler was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.

Pokey Reese was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.

Honorable Mention:

David McCarty played first base in the top of the ninth.

Final Thoughts:

That was a damn good win and so far this season Schilling has been worth it. He held the powerful Yankees to just a single run and if that's the team to beat the season, at least the Sox have one starter that can do it. Keith Foulke got tagged for the first time all-season but he didn't really care about that runner after he got the first two out. The Sox got a lot of hits but also hit into a lot of double plays. A lot of them were bad luck but still, definitely need to clean that up. Its only two games against the Yankees with 17 more to play but two wins are better than one or none. Bellhorn has played out of his mind the first two weeks of this season but it'll be tough to replace Todd Walker's five home runs in October...if the Sox can make it there. All in all it was a good win and the Sox look to make it three in a row against the Yankees tomorrow afternoon. Derek Lowe (1-0) makes his first start in 11 days taking on Jose Contreras of the Yankees. The game begins at 2:05 PM at Fenway Park.