BOSTON - Brooksville's Bronson Arroyo couldn't have gotten off to a worse start for the Red Sox on Saturday.
With his start pushed back a day because of Friday's rainout, Arroyo never appeared comfortable on the mound and didn't stay there long, getting pulled in the third inning.
Arroyo's problems started early, a walk to leadoff man Derek Jeter leading to a 31-pitch first inning. Of the 13 batters he faced, eight reached base.
The Red Sox had been hoping for a strong outing based on how the Hernando High graduate finished the season, going 5-0 with a 3.78 ERA over his last nine starts, and the way he pitched against Anaheim in the division series clincher Oct. 8, allowing three hits over six innings.
THE BIG SCHILL: The Red Sox may be running out of time to use him, but a return by Curt Schilling remains possible.
A day after his "encouraging" bullpen session, Schilling didn't report any significant problems with the injured right ankle that has threatened to end his season.
"I think he's having the usual after-throwing soreness," manager Terry Francona said Saturday. "We have not closed the door on his season. But that's about where we're at."
In an interview with Fox-TV, Schilling said he was hopeful of getting back on the mound but said it wouldn't be any sooner than a potential Game 5 on Monday.
"I have no impact whatsoever on the next two days, so the focus needs to be on us performing, us hitting and us trying to beat this team," he said.
Schilling was able to throw more normally Friday because of a high-top shoe that was custom outfitted by Reebok. The shoe, however, was a size too small, so the Sox were waiting for a new one.
"For all the publicity they are getting, they ought to be able to get the right size," Francona said.
PITCHING IN: Schilling's status isn't the only thing altering the Red Sox rotation. With Tim Wakefield, who was scheduled to start tonight, used in relief Saturday, the Sox will have to use Derek Lowe, who was dropped from the rotation, in tonight's elimination game, with Pedro Martinez or Schilling starting a potential Game 5 on Monday.
The Yankees today will start Orlando Hernandez, who hasn't pitched since Oct. 1 because of a sore shoulder.
BOSTON BLUES: Red Sox icon Johnny Pesky on Friday was bemoaning Boston's lack of luck, talking about everything from the famous Bucky Dent homer to the timing of postseason rainouts.
Yankees icon Reggie Jackson didn't want to hear of it.
"You make your own luck," Jackson said. "Make it happen. Tell ( George) Steinbrenner about the weather, or you have a headache, or the TV fell on your foot, or you have a flat tire, or it's raining, you'll be in Tampa Bay next year. "Bring home the bacon, and we'll discuss things when I'm ready.' That's how he does it."
MISCELLANY: This is the third time there has been a two-day layoff in the middle of an LCS; it happened in 1988 in New York and 1990 in Pittsburgh. ... Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy, who wrote a book on all the things that have gone wrong for the Red Sox since 1918, noted that his Thursday flight from New York to Boston was No. 1918. ... The 37 combined hits were a postseason record, with the Yankees matching the LCS record with 22. The 27 combined runs were an LCS record.
