08:53 AM EST on Thursday, March 18, 2004

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

AP photo Wearing a green jersey in celebration of St. Patrick's Day, Red Sox starting pitcher Curt Schilling delivers a throw during the second inning against the Cleveland Indians in Fort Myers, Fla., yesterday. Schilling threw for six innings, giving up one run on two hits.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Curt Schilling did some experimenting yesterday. But for the Cleveland Indians, it seemed more like Schilling was toying with them.

Schilling pitched six innings in a 3-1 Boston win, giving up only a solo homer to Casey Blake and a double to Jody Gerut in his 74-pitch stint.

"He made a point of using all his pitches today," manager Terry Francona said.

"I feel real good," said Schilling, who walked two and fanned two. "I feel like my command got here quicker this spring than normal."

In addition to his fastball, Schilling featured a splitter, curve, slider and changeup, the latter of which is a new addition to his repertoire.

Francona says that Schilling is a more complete pitcher now than when he managed the right-hander in Philadelphia in the last 1990s.

"He knows more about himself, more about his opponents and now he's added to his arsenal. He always had that splitter, but now he has other off-speed pitches."

"I knew he had a good splitter and slider," said catcher Jason Varitek. "But I didn't expect his curve would be as good as it is."

Varitek's primary task this spring is getting comfortable with Schilling and his wide assortment of pitches.

"That will come through time," said Varitek. "Right now, it's pretty fluid. But we're getting it together."

Ortiz leads A.L. hitters

The torrid spring of David Ortiz continued. The Sox DH smacked his fifth homer of the spring, the most of any American League player this spring.

Kevin Millar's sacrifice fly accounted for the first Red Sox run, while Cesar Crespo singled home another in the seventh inning. Crespo has injected himself into the battle for the last utility spot with a strong spring.

Lefty Abe Alvarez, selected in the second round of last June's draft, pitched the eighth inning and allowed one hit.

"We just wanted to get him in a game," said Francona. "I know the organization thinks highly of him. He showed a lot of poise. He has a good feel for pitching."

A former All-American at Long Beach State, Alvarez is seen as one of the top pitching prospects in the organization. After pitching 19 scoreless innings at Lowell last year, he'll likely start the season at Class A Sarasota.

Merloni looks to move on

Lou Merloni, who has had three different stints with the Red Sox, is trying to make the Indians as a utlity player.

Merloni, a Framingham, Mass. native, was one of the most popular players in recent Red Sox history -- he received a warm welcome by Red Sox fans yesterday -- but said it was probably a good idea to move on, citing the pressures of playing in his hometown.

"It was getting too hard the last couple of years," Merloni said.

AP photo In celebration of St. Patrick's Day, the Red Sox' Nomar Garciaparra sports a green uniform for yesterday's game against the Indians.

Merloni finds himself in a position battle with veteran Ricky Guitierrez and fellow Providence College alum John McDonald. Ironically, the only two PC grads in the major leagues are, temporarily, teammates.

"I think we can both make it," Merloni said. "We both bring different things to the team."

Merloni, who played the final three innings at short, has played some outfield this spring and may be asked to play some first base.

"He's having a good spring," said Cleveland manager Eric Wedge. "There are other [extra] outfielders and infielders in the mix. It's a matter of what the best fit is."

Reliever may need surgery

Reynaldo Garcia was sent to Boston to be examined after he was discovered to have some chips in his right elbow. Arthroscopic surgery is likely.

Garcia had been in contention for a long relief role in the bullpen.

"He was certainly a candidate," Francona said. "He came in knowing that he had to show what he could do and he was doing a good job."

Garciaparra back at short

Nomar Garciaparra, returning from the bruised heel that had limited him to just three games before yesterday, returned to shortstop after an absence of a few days. Garciaparra had three plate appearances, going 0-for-2 with a walk and remains hitless in eight official trips to the plate this spring. . . Ramiro Mendoza threw live batting practice, tossing 25 pitches, and is on schedule to make his game debut some time early next week. He's been shelved all spring with an abdominal pull. . . Yesterday was the final day for teams to release players on non-guaranteed contracts at one-sixth of their salary. The Sox didn't have anyone in that category and stood pat, leaving 47 players remaining in camp. A second round of cuts will take place by the weekend. . . Mark Bellhorn, originally in the lineup as the second baseman yesterday, was a last-minute scratch, complaining of "flu-like symptoms." He was sent home for the day and replaced at second by Terry Shumpert.