A POWERFUL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM
Schilling shines, but Scott Kazmir
is one hit better

September 10, 2007 ... Jacoby Ellsbury vainly tried to snag a drive off the bat of Greg Norton. Mere inches separated his glove and the ball. But he couldn't grab it, and that led to the only extra-base hit of the game for the Devil Rays, a double that would lead to a 1-0 loss for the Red Sox, who were unable to dent Scott Kazmir. So, as 36,907 learned that Ellsbury can do just about everything short of magic, their eyes lit up at another performance being played out in front of them.

Yet, just as the Red Sox love watching Josh Beckett's dominance as the season wanes, they must also be buoyed by Curt Schilling's seven-start renaissance over the past five weeks. From a disabled list stint to a shortened leash, six innings or so a pop, Schilling has become consistent enough, steady enough, to inspire confidence as the season winds down.

Though the magic number didn't change, thanks to Kazmir, Schilling allowed just one run, on that double by Norton, plus a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly. And as the offense slumbered, the bullpen produced, and Coco Crisp made another scintillating highlight play (doubling up Delmon Young from the center-field wall in the ninth), Schilling's stingy performance shined as he lowered his ERA over his past seven outings since returning from the disabled list to 3.35.

Red Sox batters, meanwhile, were mostly taking steps back to the dugout. Striking out 13 times,  10 courtesy of Kazmir,  the Sox could get no farther than second base, their best chance coming with two on and one out in the seventh. But Ellsbury struck out and Alex Cora grounded into a fielder's choice at third base. They also had Crisp on second base with two outs, Mike Lowell at bat, and David Ortiz coming out to the on-deck circle to bat for Bobby Kielty, which prompted a raucous ovation. But Lowell struck out swinging against Dan Wheeler, and that was it for the inning. Against Kazmir, the Red Sox had little chance, with just five hits and two walks over his seven innings.

Not that the Devil Rays had much more luck against Schilling or Bryan Corey, Javier Lopez, and Mike Timlin. After Ellsbury couldn't corral Norton's double to lead off the fifth, Dioner Navarro bunted Norton to third and Josh Wilson scored him with a sacrifice fly to right. But once Schilling got those two outs in the fifth inning, he allowed two more singles, to Akinori Iwamura and Carl Crawford, prompting a visit to the mound by pitching coach John Farrell. He got out of it with five pitches, the last a 91-mile-per-hour fastball that caused Carlos Pena to swing and miss. It was the fifth and final strikeout of the night for Schilling.

Schilling continues to evolve, adjusting to lowered radar gun readings and the need to get contact to keep his pitch count down. He would admit to a bit of improvement there last night. But that was about it. Little else about the outing at least in his eyes, merited praise.

Coco Crisp continued to add to his reputation for defensive excellence with another stellar catch up against the wall in center field in the ninth. And, adding to that, Crisp managed (with help from Alex Cora) to nab Delmon Young at first base for a double play, even though he said he was playing shallow on Brendan Harris.

Though Jacoby Ellsbury had a difficult meeting with the Wall on Greg Norton's double in the fifth inning he also extended his hitting streak to 10 games. He's hitting .400 (14 for 35) over that time. That didn't make his back hurt any less, though.

Manny Ramirez took 15 swings off the tee before the game, though the team still has no timetable on his return; he has been out since Aug. 28. With his 1,003d appearance, Mike Timlin passed Rich Gossage for 12th place all-time.