Schilling, Red Sox in control
BOSTON – The bloody sock is now the very symbol of these Red Sox, a rallying cry in the shape of a stitched-up right ankle.
Pitching again through so much pain it put his start in doubt, Curt Schilling helped Boston move halfway to snaring its most elusive prize: a first World Series championship since 1918.
Backed by another big hit from surprising Mark Bellhorn and unfazed by a defense that still had trouble getting a grip, the Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2 Sunday night to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
“I’m a little sore, but it don’t matter right now,” Schilling said. “Hopefully, I won’t have to pitch again, but I guarantee you that team believes in themselves as much as we believe in ourselves.”
Jason Varitek’s rare triple, Orlando Cabrera’s single off the Green Monster and a booming double by Game 1 star Mark Bellhorn drove in all of Boston’s runs with two outs — enough to offset four errors, including a Series record-tying three by third baseman Bill Mueller.
Pedro Martinez will try to make it a 3-0 lead on Tuesday night when he faces Jeff Suppan in Game 3 at St. Louis. The Cardinals are a perfect 6-0 at Busch Stadium in this postseason, and Suppan outpitched Roger Clemens there in Game 7 of the NLCS.
“We like playing on the road,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “We love playing at home. We’re disappointed we didn’t get a game here.”
Getting stronger with each pitch, Schilling held St. Louis to four hits and an unearned run for six innings. Doctors once again used sutures to keep a tendon in place, as they did before he won Game 6 of the A.L. Championship Series at Yankee Stadium, and he looked even better this time.
That stained sock has become so much a symbol — and target for TV cameras — that Schilling turned it into a billboard of sorts by writing “K ALS” on his right shoe — shorthand for “Strike out Lou Gehrig’s disease.”
“I just wish everybody on this planet could experience the day I just experienced,” he said.
When he woke up, Schilling wasn’t sure he could pitch.
“I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t move. I don’t know what had happened. But I knew when I woke up, there was a problem,” he said.
Schilling willed himself to the mound, combining with three relievers on a five-hitter, and kept focused on the main job of shutting down the St. Louis sluggers. Despite Albert Pujols getting three hits, the trio of Larry Walker, Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds went a combined 0 for 11.
Schilling improved to 8-2 lifetime in the postseason and became the first starting pitcher to win in the Series for three different teams, having also pitched for Arizona and Philadelphia.
Red Sox fans would be happy if they did not see their team play at Fenway Park any more this year. Of the 33 teams to open the Series with two victories at home, 28 have gone on to win the championship.
Then again, Boston led 2-0 in its last appearance, winning twice at Shea Stadium in 1986 before losing in seven games to the New York Mets.
Somehow, the Red Sox have won twice despite a pair of four-error performances — the most ever in the opening two games of the Series.
The Cardinals were flawless in the field on a misty, 48-degree evening, yet their baserunning was shaky. A misstep by Reggie Sanders — he stepped over second and had to retreat — cost them a chance to score early.
Varitek has hit exactly one triple in each of the last five regular seasons. He picked a good time for a bonus three-bagger.
Morris retired his first two batters before walking Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz on full-count pitches. Varitek then launched his drive.
Bellhorn made it 4-1 in the fourth. Kevin Millar was nicked by a pitch, Mueller doubled and Bellhorn hit a drive off the base of the wall in dead center.