01:00 AM EDT on Monday, May 31, 2004

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- By the time the Red Sox finished off the Seattle Mariners, 9-7, in the 12th inning yesterday, Curt Schilling 's outing was nearly an afterthought.

But for a while, Schilling looked like he would be the afternoon's big story. He retired the first 17 hitters he faced, and was 10 outs away from joining former teammate Randy Johnson in one of the game's most exclusive clubs.

"I know after one inning if I'm perfect," said Schilling. "I know who I'm facing. I know who's coming up. I'm paying attention as the game's going on, because I'm in between innings, laying out my game plan. I can read a scorecard. I know who's hit and who hasn't and how many guys I've faced. But you don't think about those things when you're throwing the baseball."

But Schilling's bid for a perfect game ended when Randy Winn lined a single to left with two outs in the sixth.

After that, Schilling struggled. He gave up two hits to start the seventh, followed by a sacrifice fly. In the eighth, a walk, two hits and another sacrifice fly spelled the end of Schilling's afternoon after 101 pitches.

"It was fun," said Schilling of his flirtation with perfection. "A lot of that loses its lasting effect when you finish the way I finished. But it was a good win, a fun win."

Winn has made a habit of breaking up Red Sox no-hit bids. Winn snapped Tim Wakefield 's bid at Tampa Bay with a leadoff single in the ninth on June 19, 2001.

Foulke's save streak ends

All good things must come to an end, and so it was with Keith Foulke 's stretch of consecutive converted saves.

He blew his first save as a member of the Sox in the eighth inning and his first since last Aug. 14, when Foulke, then pitching with Oakland, was beaten by the Sox.

"It doesn't matter when the last one was," said Foulke. "My job is to get outs and I didn't do that today. My goal is to win games. I'm not here to be a mediocre pitcher."

Foulke, who was 10-for-10 this season before yesterday, had his streak snapped at 24. That had been the second-longest streak in the major leagues, behind the Dodgers' Eric Gagne, whose ongoing streak is at 74.

"The good thing is we won the game," Foulke said. "But the bottom line is, I can't go into that situation and give up runs."

The runs were the first off Foulke since April 17, when he yielded a run to the Yankees in another outing in relief of Schilling.

Youkilis racks up runs

Kevin Youkilis , who gained a reputation as an on-base machine in the minor leagues, has shown a penchant for scoring runs in the big leagues.

Yesterday, he had his best game since his recall on May 15. He scored three times and now has crossed home plate 15 times in 12 games, including 13 times in nine games on this homestand. He went 3-for-5, including a double, and his average is up to .317. It was his fourth multi-hit game.

After Bill Mueller was sidelined with a knee problem that resulted in surgery, Youkilis was named the starting third baseman.

"It takes time anywhere you go," said Youkilis. "Moving up the levels (in the organization), which I've done the last couple of years, it just takes a little time to know your teammates, know your position on the team, and know everything else around you. Once you get a feel for everything around you, whether it's baseball, or everything outside of baseball, it helps out a lot."

Defensively he was solid, but it was his base running that proved crucial. He scored from first on a RBI-double by Manny Ramirez in the third inning, and later scored from second on a wild pitch in the seventh inning.

Damon out of starting lineup

With his left knee a bit sore, Johnny Damon was held out of the starting lineup as a precaution.

Damon fouled a ball off the knee on Opening Day and it's bothered him periodically.

He got into the game in the eighth inning as a pinch-hitter, delivering a sacrifice fly.

Fans sold on Red Sox

Yesterday was the Red Sox' 90th straight sellout, dating back to May 15, 2003. That gives the Sox the third longest sellout streak in major-league history, tying them with the San Francisco Giants, who sold out 90 games from April 2000 until April 2001.

The major-league record belongs to the Cleveland Indians, who enjoyed 455 straight sellouts. Second-best: Colorado, which had a run of 202 sellouts from June 1995 through September 1997.

Around the bases

Francona used every position player except backup catcher Doug Mirabelli yesterday. Mirabelli, who suffered a slight hamstring pull Saturday, was available for duty if needed. . . . Schilling passed Chuck Finley to move into 19th on the all-time strikeout list. Shilling now has 2,612, moving up on David Cone, who has 2,668. . . . The Sox are 23-7 when scoring first. . . . Boston improved to 7-2 in home series this year. . . . In extra-inning games, the Sox are now 3-2. . . . Ellis Burks , having overcome a few post-operative setbacks, could be ready to be activated when the Sox return home -- or soon after. . . . Scott Williamson will begin throwing under the watchful eye of Tony Cloninger today in Fort Myers, Fla. Williamson is eligible to come off the DL Friday.

Joe McDonald contributed to this report