Due to last night's rainout, Byung-Yun Kim will start the first game of tomorrow's day-night doubleheader

01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, April 28, 2004

BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- Byung-Hyun Kim's return to the mound at Fenway Park will come sooner than expected.

He has Mother Nature to thank for that.

The right-hander has been rehabbing a strained shoulder since spring training and was scheduled to continue rehabbing in Double-A Portland tomorrow. Since the first game of the Red Sox three-game series with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays was postponed after a 95-minute delay last night due to inclement weather, Kim will start the first game of the day/night doubleheader tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Tonight's game will be played as scheduled at 7:05 p.m.

Postponements usually have a negative effect on a team's starting rotation, but this could actually help the Sox.

Curt Schilling will start tonight's game; Kim will get the nod

tomorrow, followed by Derek Lowe in the nightcap. Bronson Arroyo will pitch Friday's series opener in Texas, , followed by Pedro Martinez and Tim Wakefield Sunday.

Kim, who threw 60 pitches for the Pawtucket Red Sox last Saturday and worked a bullpen session on Monday at Fenway Park, was expected to throw 75 pitches for Double-A Portland tomorrow. Now, he's expected to work the same tomorrow against the Devil Rays.

Being a knuckleball pitcher, Wakefield doesn't need to stay on a regular schedule. He volunteered to skip his scheduled start tomorrow to allow Kim to get in the necessary work.

"Wake will be available out of the bullpen for the first game (tomorrow)," said Francona. "So we're in good shape. . . . He wanted to pitch tonight and I wanted to watch him pitch tonight. Mother Nature doesn't agree all the time. So you make the best plans you can. We set it up like this and everybody understands and we're all on board and ready to go. (Wakefield) is about as much of a pro as you'll ever find. He'd do whatever you ask."

Kim suffered a right shoulder strain during spring training and the Sox are hoping this rehab start will improve his strength and stamina. Eventually Francona would like to see Kim as the club's fifth starter.

"It's definitely an asset having him here," said Francona.

If Kim is able to return to the rotation on a full-time basis, Arroyo will be sent to the bullpen.

"That's not a knock on Bronson," said Francona. "And he knows that. As far as our ball club goes, it fits. Bronson will have an impact on our bullpen in a lot of ways, and all of them positive."