THE "IDIOTS" REVERSE THE CURSE
Curt Schilling aces the Braves

July 3, 2004 ...  Curt Schilling stopped the Red Sox slide by going the distance and shackling the Braves, 6-1, before a record crowd of 51,831 at Turner Field.

Schilling was the impresario of the revival festival. Providing crucial relief for the overtaxed Sox relievers, he pitched his second complete game of the season, scattering six hits and a walk in allowing the lone run. His last five wins have followed Sox losses as he has emerged as the stopper in chief. Schilling, who struck out 10, improved to 11-4 and lowered his ERA to 3.07 on the eve of almost certainly landing a spot on the American League All-Star team.

Damon's homer leading off the sixth was helpful. But Garciaparra was huge, homering off Atlanta starter John Thomson in the second inning to give the Sox a sorely needed lead. Garciaparra has gone 6 for 9 and played flawlessly in the field since his night off, a rest for which he was roundly excoriated.

Mirabelli provided some magic of his own. Summoned on short notice to work with Schilling, who expects intense preparation from his catchers, Mirabelli not only handled Schilling seamlessly but provided the biggest hit of the night to break the game open. But with two outs in the sixth and the Sox leading, 2-0, Mirabelli stepped in against Thomson with the bases loaded after consecutive singles by Manny Ramirez, Garciaparra, and Bill Mueller. Then Mirabelli waged an seven-pitch standoff before Thomson fired the eighth pitch, a 93-mile-an hour heater. Did it ever. The ball sailed over the center-field wall for a grand slam and a 6-0 cushion for Schilling.

Not that Schilling needed a lot of run support. Sure, he gave the Braves some chances, as he did in the first inning when Nick Green doubled to the left-field corner with one out. As he did again when Andruw Jones doubled to left-center with two out in the second inning. And as he did when he walked J.D. Drew leading off the fourth. But only one of those runners advanced as far as the next base (Drew stole second). In each case, Schilling thoroughly dominated the Braves to close out the innings.

He was even more impressive in the fifth after Charles Thomas doubled and Thomson singled Thomas to third with one out. Schilling then mowed down Rafael Furcal and Green on six straight pitches, fanning each with 96-mile-an-hour gas.

The Braves broke through only in the sixth inning when Drew doubled leading off, moved to third on a ground out by Chipper Jones, and scored on Adam La Roche's two-out, broken-bat infield single, making it 6-1.

No sweat. The Sox were back on track, at least for a night.

The commissioner's office, enforcing a strict policy against extraneous material on caps and uniforms, effectively banned Keith Foulke from displaying a tiny American flag on the left side of his cap. Foulke said he wore the patch to support American troops. His father is a retired deputy sheriff who served in the Air Force.

With their bullpen seriously depleted after two straight extra- inning marathons, the Sox called up lefthander Jimmy Anderson and returned Anastacio Martinez to Triple A Pawtucket.  Brian Daubach has made a strong case to return to Boston from Triple A Pawtucket, batting .316 with nine homers, 33 RBIs, and a .448 on-base percentage in 32 games. He has volunteered to play left field as well as first base and has provided a strong veteran presence for the PawSox.

Augusta outfielder Brandon Moss, who is tearing up the South Atlantic League, was named MVP of the league's all-star game. He collected two hits and the go-ahead RBI. Augusta righthander Jarrett Gardner pitched two scoreless innings in the game.  Just when lefthander Jon Lester, who signed for $1 million as the team's top pick in 2002, returned from a brief bout of elbow tendonitis, he was struck by a line drive on his pitching forearm by the second batter he faced in his first game back with Sarasota, and needed to be removed from the game.