COORS FIELD

THE "IDIOTS" REVERSE THE CURSE
Schilling has a rocky performance

June 16, 2004 ...  In his last stand before the Red Sox determine whether his ankle injury is serious enough to warrant a stint on the disabled list, Schilling last night pitched as if he were defending the Alamo, firing everything he had at the Rockies amid a siege that left him in dire need of help.

With Schilling struggling mightily, the Rockies dealt him his first defeat in six starts since May 13 by twice overcoming deficits en route to a 7-6 victory before 39,319 at Coors Field. The loss dropped the Sox a season-high 5 1/2 games back in the American League East as the surging Yankees cruised past the Diamondbacks, 9- 4, in Arizona.

Schilling's encounter at hitter-friendly Coors was a 113-pitch case study in misery as he surrendered seven runs (five earned) on nine hits, four walks, and a hit batsman. He had allowed more than nine hits only once this season (a 13-hit thumping by the Blue Jays April 22). He had not walked four batters in a game since April 17 against the Yankees. And he had not hit a batter since April 11 against the Jays. But Schilling said his ankle has improved considerably and attributed his struggles more to shoddy command than physical infirmity.

Schilling, who dropped to 8-4 while his ERA rose to 3.31, departed for Boston after the game. Dr. Bill Morgan, who flew to Denver yesterday to monitor the right-hander's condition, was scheduled to conduct an MRI tomorrow to determine if Schilling's injury has worsened. If it has, he is likely to land on the disabled list. But Schilling seemed confident he would make his next start Tuesday against the Twins at Fenway Park, saying he took a second injection of Marcaine after the fifth inning solely as a precaution.

Still, his ordeal was so difficult that he managed to retire the Rockies in order only once. The Sox gave him leads of 1-0 in the second inning and 3-2 in the fourth, but he was unable to protect them. Schilling had created a mess for himself by issuing consecutive walks to Royce Clayton and Todd Helton. And Castilla capitalized by pounding the fastball for a two run double that put the Rockies ahead to stay.

For their part, Sox hitters fell just shy of compensating for Schilling's woes. Trailing, 7-4, in the ninth inning, they tagged Colorado closer Shawn Chacon for two runs on singles by Manny Ramirez, Nomar Garciaparra, Varitek, and Kevin Youkilis. But with two outs and the tying run at third, Chacon escaped by getting pinch hitter David McCarty to fly out to right on a 3-and-2 pitch. The Sox mustered 11 base runners (on six hits and five walks) against Colorado starter Jason Jennings, whose name has been floated as possible trade fodder involving the Sox, but they scored only three times. They got solo homers from Youkilis, Trot Nixon (in his season debut), and Varitek (off reliever Scott Dohmann). But they otherwise mustered only an RBI single by Damon before the ninth inning rally.

The Sox compounded their problems by twice going hitless with the bases loaded, lowering their American League-worst average with the bases full to .188. Amid the futility, they committed two errors (by Damon and Garciaparra) as their league-leading total of unearned runs rose to 44. And they let the Rockies win a second straight game at Coors for the first time in a month. Worse, the Sox have lost three games on the Yankees since Friday. The last time the Yankees led the Sox by more than 5 1/2 games was the final game of last season, when the margin was six.

Trot Nixon's debut was a mixed bag; 1 for 4 with a solo home run and a walk, as well as a double-play ball and a strike out with runners at first and second in the ninth when he had his best chance to impact the outcome.

Nomar Garciaparra, who went 2 for 5 last night, is batting .250 with a double and three RBIs in six games since he returned from a severe case of tendonitis in his right Achilles'. He was working to refine his swing and timing after accumulating just 21 at-bats and hitting .238 over six rehab appearances with Triple A Pawtucket. He also went hitless in eight at-bats in spring training.

Byung Hyun Kim returned from a rehab trip to South Korea, threw at Fenway Park yesterday under the supervision of minor league pitching coordinator Goose Gregson.  Ellis Burks continued to be plagued by swelling in his left knee as he tries to come back from arthroscopic surgery.

To make room for Trot Nixon, the Sox optioned Anastacio Martinez to Pawtucket, cutting the bullpen corps from seven to six.