The ace isn't especially sharp but still gets the big-game win in a 9-3 battering of the Angels.
By Associated Press
Published October 6, 2004
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Curt Schilling has pitched a lot better in big games than he did Tuesday.
Fortunately for him, he had a large margin for error.
Schilling pitched effectively into the seventh inning, Manny Ramirez and Kevin Millar homered during a seven-run burst in the fourth and the Red Sox beat the Angels 9-3 to open the AL playoffs.
Schilling said he felt "incredibly strong" in the bullpen before the game and had good velocity, but he struggled otherwise.
"I knew I wasn't as sharp as I have been," he said. "Looking back, I made some mistakes today. I left some pitches over the plate. (But) solo home runs don't beat you."
Each team hit two homers, but Boston's produced five runs and Anaheim's two.
The Red Sox had an 8-0 lead after 31/2 innings.
"All you can ask from him is to go out there and give us a chance to win," said Millar, whose two-run homer triggered Boston's big inning. "We swung the bats enough to give him a lead, and he held it."
Schilling gave up nine hits and three runs, two earned, and allowed at least one baserunner in every inning. He walked two and struck out four in 61/3 innings.
The right-hander entered with a 5-1 record and a 1.66 ERA in 11 postseason appearances.
Schilling also tweaked his right ankle and said afterward it was a little sore. But he said he doesn't believe it will create any problems.
Pedro Martinez is scheduled to pitch against Anaheim's Bartolo Colon in Game 2 tonight before the best-of-five series moves to Boston.
"We're up 1-0. Tomorrow's starters will determine momentum going into the game," Schilling said. "This is a tough place to win. But we've got Pedro going. I'm pretty excited about that."
The Angels are in a familiar place, having lost series openers to the Yankees, Twins and Giants two years ago before rebounding to beat those teams en route to the World Series championship.
"Hopefully we can bounce back like we did then," losing pitcher Jarrod Washburn said.
Just like the 2002 postseason, most of the fans at Angel Stadium wore red and made it noisy by banging ThunderStix. The volume level decreased significantly after the Red Sox took their big lead, and not even stuffed Rally Monkeys could spur the home team.
Boston's seven-run inning was its biggest in the postseason and the biggest allowed by the Angels. Five runs were unearned because of a throwing error by third baseman Chone Figgins.
Alan Embree relieved Schilling with a runner at second, two outs in the seventh and the Red Sox leading 8-3. Embree retired pinch-hitter Adam Riggs on foul popup to end the inning.
Boston went ahead for good off Washburn in the first on Ramirez's two-out double and David Ortiz's broken-bat single.
Ortiz walked to begin the fourth, and Millar hit an 0-and-1 offspeed pitch into the leftfield bullpen, making it 3-0. The Red Sox then loaded the bases with one out, and two scored when Figgins fielded Johnny Damon's grounder but was far off target with his throw home as he went for the force.
"In a game like this, it's certainly more irritating than a regular-season game. There's a lot more riding on it," Figgins said. "I played aggressively. That's the way I play. If it happens tomorrow, I'm going to do the same thing. I'm not beating myself up."
Scot Shields relieved and struck out Mark Bellhorn, but Ramirez capped the inning with a three-run homer over the left-centerfield fence.
Troy Glaus, MVP of the 2002 World Series, hit Schilling's second pitch in the bottom half for a long home run. Darin Erstad homered in the seventh.
