Curt Schilling says he's ready to return to the majors after he hits 93 mph on the radar gun in his second relief appearance in 24 hours.

01:00 AM EDT on Monday, July 11, 2005

BY MIKE SCANDURA
Special to the Journal

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Curt Schilling spent more time on the mound in his third relief outing for the Pawtucket Red Sox than he did discussing his performance yesterday at Alliance Bank Stadium.

Schilling pitched a one-hit eighth inning during Pawtucket's 4-0 victory over Syracuse yesterday, a game where -- subtracting his numbers -- starter Lenny DiNardo plus relievers Manny Delcarmen and Cla Meredith combined to ground the SkyChiefs on four hits replete with 11 strikeouts.

"He was really confident (Saturday night) and today you could tell when he came in the dugout he was like 'Hey, you need another one?'," said PawSox manager Ron Johnson. "You could just see it in his face. If I had said 'Yes,' he would have walked back out there."

Schilling threw 11 of his 16 pitches for strikes. His repertoire consisted exclusively of splitters and fastballs, and he twice hit 93 mph on the stadium radar gun. And this outing might have been scrutinized more closely than his others because he was pitching for the second time in two days.

"He seemed to be in good enough shape," said catcher Kelly Shoppach. "He came back today with no problems after (Saturday night), which is something he hasn't done. He said he felt fine and he looked fine. It's tough to come back (twice in 24 hours) especially for a starter, and he's been a starter forever.

"He threw the ball well (Saturday) and today, and he didn't go against easy hitters. These were pretty good hitters and he pretty much ran through them easy."

Schilling verbally ran through a post-game session before boarding a private van for a ride to Hancock International Airport and a flight to Boston.

"I want to be in the big leagues pitching. I'm anxious to get back," he said. "I felt good today. I felt stronger than I was (Saturday), which is good.

"I'm ready to go back there Thursday. That's the hope. Maybe we'll be winning (against the Yankees at Fenway Park) by a large enough score so I don't have to pitch. (Physically) I felt fine. There was no problem."

The only problem of note that Schilling encountered came when leadoff batter Anton French lined a splitter to right field for a single. Bryant Nelson popped out to third on a splitter. Then Schilling twice painted the outside corner with 93-mph fastballs while fanning lefty-swinging Kevin Barker. He notched the final out by inducing John-Ford Griffin to loft another splitter to left field.

"His face coming to the mound was a positive to me," said Shoppach. "He looked excited. Usually with a starter's mentality, you have five days to prep for it. All the jitters are gone. Obviously he knew he was going to pitch today. But coming out of the bullpen, normally it's a tight game and you get a little adrenaline rush."

Schilling's three relief outings with Pawtucket encompassed three innings and included three hits, two runs (one earned), no walks and four strikeouts. His next step is to chat with the Boston brain trust and learn if he'll get the word to show up for bullpen duty Thursday at Fenway.

"You're not talking about a minor-league pitcher who's trying to assume a different role," said Johnson. "You're talking about Curt Schilling. We know what he's done and what he can do. He will let you know what he's ready to do. I wouldn't bet against the guy. He's pitched more big games than you can think of."

Johnson hardly could think of DiNardo, Delcarmen and Meredith pitching any better.

DiNardo, who last worked on June 30, allowed two hits, struck out six and faced only three batters over the minimum during a five-inning stint.

Delcarmen made his second career Triple-A appearance, allowed one hit and fanned four. In four innings since joining Pawtucket on July 6, he has nine whiffs on his stat sheet. And he consistently hit 95 on the gun, especially on high, tight fastballs.

"He throws real hard," said Johnson. "What I was impressed with was, after he cruised through the (sixth inning), in his second inning his command got a little bit below -- but all of a sudden he was able to slow himself down and make good pitches. The next thing you know, he's punching out two guys to get out of the inning.

"There are very few guys who are going to get to his fastball that's up and in."

The PawSox got the only run they would need in the second off of Chad Gaudin, when Chip Ambres singled and later scored on Alejandro Machado's two-out single.

Dustin Pedroia grounded an 0-and-2 pitch to right field in the seventh for a 2-0 lead. Then, in the eighth, Justin Sherrod crushed a two-run homer to left off Josue Matos.

Pedroia also was involved in the game's key defensive play, when Syracuse put Jason Alfaro on third and John Schneider on second with one out. Danny Solaro grounded to second, and even though Pedroia was playing at normal depth, he still threw out Alfaro at home by almost two feet.