A POWERFUL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM
Jonathan Papelbon comes in and
overpowers the Rangers

April 8, 2007 ... Relieved of his duties after just 102 pitches, after seven shut-out innings of four-hit, one-run baseball, Schilling was helpless as the man once heralded as the potential Red Sox closer walked the eighth and ninth batters in the Rangers' order in a game the Sox led by just two runs. Then that man, Joel Piniero, himself was walking off the mound, the bases loaded, his job far from completed.  Then, after Javier Lopez got an out but an inherited runner scored, came the relief.

Jonathan Papelbon, the closer whose return to that spot was officially confirmed on Schilling's 38pitches.com blog, walked to the mound. There was purpose to his steps from the center field bullpen to the hill to face the Rangers' best hitter, Michael Young, with one out and men on first and third in a one-run game. It was just about one year after the last time he conquered Texas, having been handed the ball in the third game of last season over incumbent closer Keith Foulke.

Papelbon was back, not as the starter he had attempted to be in spring training, but the closer, the dominant one with the 0.92 ERA last season, the one whose stare underneath the slightly-curved brim of his hat was followed immediately by strikeouts and saves. In this case, against Young, it was followed by a 94 mile per hour fastball for a swing-and-miss, one just out of the strike zone, and a 96 mph fastball for a swing-and-miss.  Oh, and then a 97 m.p.h. fastball taken for a strike that found catcher Jason Varitek's glove, leaving Young motionless.

That just made the pop-up to third base by Mark Teixeira all the more inevitable, getting the Sox out of the inning in front of 28,347 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Then Papelbon completed the five-out appearance with a dominating ninth inning that featured strikeouts of Hank Blalock and Brad Wilkerson.

After Piniero had loaded the bases to open the eighth, on those walks and a bunt infield hit, Francona elected to bring in Lopez, the 12th pitcher on the roster, to face Nelson Cruz (pinch hitting for Frank Catalanotto). Lopez allowed a shot to first base, which glanced off Kevin Youkilis' glove, but the first baseman still managed to get an out at second on the RBI fielder's choice.

So with runners on the corners, in came Papelbon. And on came the sigh of relief for Schilling, who in many ways had given relief to his team in a rebound effort after a shaky Opening Day start.

There had been more than a hint of panic after Schilling's uncharacteristically unimpressive start to the season. Against a Kansas City lineup hardly venerated, Schilling lasted just four innings, giving up five runs, and inspiring fans to already laud general manager Theo Epstein for his prescience in not signing the 40-year-old to a contract for next season.

And even though no one doubted David Ortiz's bat would pick up after a slow start to his season, it took all of eight pitches for Ortiz to get not just his first home run of the season, but his second, too. Hitting both on 2-1 counts off Rangers starter Vicente Padilla, Ortiz blew past Youkilis, the only member of the team to homer in the first five games of the season, their fewest since hitting none in that span in 1993, to seize control of the team homer lead, a position he is unlikely to relinquish for very long as the season progresses.

Schilling allowed his run on a homer by nemesis Frank Catalanotto, who has the best average against the pitcher in the major leagues (11 for 20, .550), on a changeup in the first inning. He retired his final 10 batters in a row, and 14 of the last 15, striking out six and walking one.

But even with his rebound performance, Schilling still saved his praise for Papelbon. Not that Papelbon wasn't pleased with his results.

Josh Beckett and Diasuke Matsuzaka, the starters tomorrow and Wednesday, left the ballpark well before yesterday's game to head back to Boston. Matsuzaka is scheduled to throw a side session tomorrow.

Before the game, Hideki Okajima and Rangers reliever Akinori Otsuka greeted each other in front of a slew of cameras near the Rangers dugout. Alex Cora became the final player on the active roster to play in a game, when he started at second base for Dustin Pedroia. Cora's first double of the season will bring him to an even 100 for his career.