So far, so good for the Curt Schilling (3-1, 3.31 ERA) era in Boston. After being signed to make a difference this season, he's been worth every penny spent so far. Tonight he mastered the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for 7 1/3 innings, not allowing a single run to Tampa. Meanwhile the Sox beat up Paul Abbott of Tampa. Jason Varitek hit a two run home run in the bottom of the fourth and drove in another run against Travis Harper in the seventh. Mark Bellhorn drove in a run against former NBA player Mark Hendrickson and Bill Mueller drove in the final run. Alan Embree and Lenny DiNardo put the finishing touches on the win by slamming the door as the Sox defeated Tampa 6-0 at Fenway Park.
Schilling got the ball in the top of the first as Carl Crawford flied out to center to start. Rocco Baldelli beat out a roller to short and Aubrey Huff singled in the hole at second. Robert Fick popped up to third and Tino Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning. Abbott got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Johnny Damon grounded out to second to start. Bill Mueller popped up to first and David Ortiz struck out swinging to end the inning.
Julio Lugo lined out to third to start the top of the second and Jose Cruz Jr flied out to center. Toby Hall singled to right but old pal Rey Sanchez forced Hall at second to end the inning. Manny Ramirez grounded out to short to start the bottom of the second before Jason Varitek took strike three. Kevin Millar flied out to center to end the inning.
Crawford struck out swinging to start the top of the third before Baldelli grounded out to third. Huff popped up to short to end the inning. Mark Bellhorn walked to start the bottom of the third before being forced at second by Gabe Kapler. Cesar Crespo got a base hit to right but Damon flied out to left. Mueller flied out to center to end the inning.
Fick lined out to first to start the top of the fourth before Martinez struck out swinging. Lugo doubled in the hole at short but Cruz struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the fourth as Ortiz grounded out to first to start. Ramirez doubled to left and Varitek launched his third home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Millar got a base hit to left and Bellhorn doubled off the Monster but Kapler lined out to third. Crespo grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
Hall popped up to short to start the top of the fifth before Sanchez flied out to left. Crawford grounded out to second to end the inning. Damon popped up to third to start the bottom of the fifth before Mueller grounded back to the mound. Ortiz walked and Ramirez got a base hit to left but Varitek grounded out to second to end the inning.
Baldelli struck out swinging to start the top of the sixth but Huff flied out to center. Fick also flied out to center to end the inning. Millar grounded out to third to start the bottom of the sixth but Bellhorn walked. Kapler forced Bellhorn at second but Crespo grounded out to second to end the inning.\
Martinez struck out swinging to open the top of the seventh but Lugo singled to center. Cruz struck out swinging and Hall took strike three to end the inning. The Sox poured it on in the bottom of the seventh as Damon grounded out to first to start. Mueller got a base hit to right and Ortiz hit a double off The Monster to chase Abbott. Travis Harper came in to pitch and Ramirez was intentionally walked to load the bases. Varitek made the Rays pay with a base hit to right to score Mueller. Millar popped up to short and Mark Hendrickson was brought in to face Bellhorn. Mark got a base hit to left to score Ortiz and Ramirez. Kapler flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox up 5-0.
Schilling came back briefly in the top of the eighth with David McCarty now in at first base. Sanchez flied out to center and Sox manager Terry Francona came out to get Schilling. Curt was outstanding, tossing 7 1/3 shutout innings allowing just 5 hits while striking out eight. Alan Embree came in and Crawford struck out swinging. Baldelli flied out to right to end the inning.
Crespo grounded out to short to start the bottom of the eighth before Damon beat out a roller to third. Mueller doubled to center to score Damon before Ortiz struck out swinging. Ramirez lined out to right to end the inning with the Sox up 6-0.
Lenny DiNardo came in to close out the top of the ninth and Huff grounded out to first to start. Damian Rolls pinch hit for Fick and took strike three but Eduardo Perez pinch hit for Martinez. Perez grounded out to short to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-0.
Hero of The Night is Curt Schilling. He throttled the Devil Rays for 7 1/3 innings allowing 5 hits while striking out 8
The Good:
Bill Mueller was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.
Manny Ramirez was 2 for 4 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Jason Varitek was 2 for 4 with a 2 run homer and 3 total rbis.
Mark Bellhorn was 2 for 4 with 2 walks and 2 rbis.
Alan Embree got the final two outs of the eighth inning.
Lenny DiNardo tossed a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Gabe Kapler was 0 for 4.
The Ugly:
Johnny Damon was just 1 for 5 but scored a run.
David Ortiz was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.
Kevin Millar was just 1 for 4.
Cesar Crespo was just 1 for 4.
Honorable Mention:
David McCarty played first base in the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
Another great start by Schilling and he's been worth every cent to start the season. Sox fans have been screaming for another starter to go with Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe for two years and Schilling was what the doctor ordered. He shut down the Rays big time tonight while the Sox bats responded to get to Abbott. Bellhorn, Varitek, Mueller and Ramirez all had multiple hits and when this lineup is on, they're very tough to defeat. The best part is this isn't even the Sox at full strength, eventually they're going to get back Trot Nixon, Byung-Hung Kim and Nomar Garciaparra. Kim and Arroyo are essentially going to have a duel for the 5th starter spot when Kim gets back. The rumor is Kim will be activated for tomorrow's doubleheader and it'll be interesting to see who goes. It might be Mark Malaska, it might be Phil Seibel, who knows. The Sox look to continue the momentum in tomorrow's doubleheader against the Devil Rays. Byung-Hung Kim is scheduled to make his season debut against Victor Zambrano of Tampa. The game begins at 1:00 PM at Fenway Park.
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