Baseball

With Yanks coming, Boston's Schilling ready to pitch

By wire services
Published July 11, 2005

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Curt Schilling is ready to get back to Boston - and maybe face the Yankees.

But the Boston ace will have to wait until the team needs him in his new role as a reliever.

Schilling pitched back-to-back games over the weekend for Triple-A Pawtucket. He faced four batters in the eighth inning Sunday, helping beat Syracuse 4-0.

It could be his last rehab appearance, though there has been no official word from the Red Sox on whether he will be activated for a four-game series against the Yankees that starts Thursday.

Schilling threw 16 pitches, 11 for strikes, and allowed one hit. He struck out one and had a fastball that registered 93 mph.

"I want to be in the big leagues pitching, and I'm anxious to get back," Schilling said. "I felt good. I felt stronger than I did yesterday, which is good."

Schilling worked the ninth Saturday, retiring the SkyChiefs in order on seven pitches, six for strikes with one strikeout in a 12-3 Pawtucket win.

The 38-year-old right-hander had surgery during the offseason to repair a tendon in his right ankle and started the season on the disabled list. He went 1-2 with an 8.15 ERA before bruising that ankle on April 23 and going back on the DL.

In other Red Sox news, outfielder Johnny Damon ' s ninth-inning bunt single Sunday extended his career-high hitting streak to 25 games. It is tied for the ninth-longest streak in franchise history ( George Metkovich in 1944 and Wade Boggs in 1987).

HOME RUNS: If the new testing policy has weeded steroids from the game, then the numbers suggest performance-enhancing drugs hadn't altered the game as much as once thought. Through Saturday, 2.04 home runs had been hit per game this season in the majors. That's down only 6 percent from last year's average of 2.17 at the All-Star break. "It was written off that if you had power and you were in the big leagues you took steroids, so I think it was a big misconception," Marlins outfielder Jeff Conine said.

A'S: With its 9-8 win in 11 innings over the White Sox, the team completed its first sweep on the road since Aug. 16-18 at Baltimore.

CUBS: Rookie Adam Greenberg was unavailable for Sunday's game after being hit in the head by the first pitch he faced in the major leagues in the ninth inning of Saturday's 8-2 loss to Florida. Greenberg had a precautionary CT scan that did not reveal any significant injury.

NATIONALS: Second baseman Junior Spivey is scheduled for surgery today to repair a broken bone in his right forearm and will miss eight to 12 weeks. Spivey was injured Saturday when a ball he hit off a tee during batting practice ricocheted off the top of the batting cage and hit him in the arm.

ORIOLES: The attendance of 49,828 for Sunday's game against Boston was the largest crowd in Camden Yards history. The 195,722 total for the four-game series is the largest in franchise history, surpassing the 192,494 drawn for a series against Boston in July 1998.

PHILLIES: First baseman Jim Thome , on the disabled list since July 1 with tendinitis in his right elbow, had a setback and had to curtail his pregame hitting session. Manager Charlie Manuel said he was still hoping Thome could rejoin the club early in the season's second half. Thome is eligible to come off the DL on Saturday, but will probably need on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment to sharpen his swing.

RANGERS: The team's 147 homers are the most before the All-Star break in club history.

ROYALS: The team is 1-6 in extra-inning games and 0-3 in extra-inning contests at home. When trailing going into the ninth this year it is 0-51. The last time the Royals won when trailing after the eighth inning was Aug. 31, when they beat Detroit 9-8.

YANKEES: Gary Sheffield hit his 432nd career homer, passing Cal Ripken Jr . for 33rd place all time.

[Last modified July 11, 2005, 01:01:12]