After a rough start, Curt Schilling settles down as Boston rips Philadelphia and concludes its homestand with a palatable 3-3 mark.

02:24 AM EDT on Monday, June 28, 2004

BY STEVEN KRASNER
Journal Sports Writer

AP photo Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling reacts to striking out Philadelphia Phillies Todd Pratt with two men on base to end the sixth inning during Boston's 12-3 win at Fenway Park in Boston yesterday. Schilling struck out seven while picking up his tenth win.

BOSTON -- Jim Thome, the major leagues' leading home-run hitter, had no chance against Curt Schilling.

And if Thome, who had clubbed his 25th and 26th homers earlier in the series, was overmatched, what were the odds that Jason Michaels and Todd Pratt, the bottom two hitters in Philadelphia's lineup, were going to be able to thrive against the Boston Red Sox right-hander?

Exactly. Slim and none.

Schilling emphatically won three key confrontations when the game still was in the balance, helping the Red Sox eventually swamp the Phillies, 12-3, at sun-splashed Fenway Park yesterday.

Schilling fanned Thome on a 95-mph heater, protecting a one-run lead in the fifth with a runner at second and two out.

With runners at first and third and one out in a 6-3 game in the sixth, Schilling blazed a 97-mph laser past Michaels. And then, after making Pratt look feeble on two 97-mph fastballs, Schilling got the Phillies' catcher to wave meekly at an 88-mph splitter on his 110th and final pitch of the game.

"I live for those kind of things," said Schilling.

The victory boosted Schilling's record to 10-4, tying him with Texas' Kenny Rogers, Houston's Roger Clemens and San Francisco's Jason Schmidt for most wins in the majors. Schilling fanned seven, giving him 100 and tying him with Minnesota's Johan Santana for the league lead. He's also tied for tops in the American League in innings pitched with Oakland's Mark Mulder, at 111.

The triumph, meanwhile, enabled Boston, which had dropped its last three series, to take two of three from the Phillies.

And while the final score makes it look like a mismatch, it was a far tighter game than that. In fact, Schilling was not on top of his game early.

Schilling was cuffed around and knocked out of his game plan by the aggressive Phillies, whose attack featured first-pitch solo homers by Pat Burrell and David Bell in the second inning.

By the third, Philadelphia had a 3-0 lead.

But Schilling's second wind arrived in the form of two-out, two-run doubles by Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra in the fourth that created a 4-3 Red Sox lead. And Schilling turned tenacious.

A two-out double by Bobby Abreu brought Thome (55 RBI) to the plate in the fifth.

Schilling fell behind Jim Thome, 2-and-0. Even with first base open, Schilling went after Thome, blowing three fastballs past him.

An inning later, Schilling, in trouble again despite a three-run cushion, went back to his fastball. And while Michaels put up a good battle, Schilling blew him away on the ninth pitch of the at-bat.

"He really showed a lot when he reached back in the sixth inning," said Boston manager Terry Francona. "He was just about out of gas and I looked up (at the scoreboard) and he was hitting 97. That's not just being a good pitcher, that's having a lot of heart."

Schilling was well aware that he had to rise to those occasions.

"In those situations, you come to the realization that you have to make a pitch or they're back in the game and you're out of the game," said Schilling.

"Jimmy (Thome) is arguably the hottest hitter in the game right now. The last two hitters, that was everything I had. Those situations are the kinds of things that make all the hours of studying and preparation worth it. To face the best and come out ahead, that's special. It doesn't happen very often," he said.

What made Schilling's strikeouts all the more impressive to Boston pitching coach Dave Wallace was that Schilling struggled early.

"He really didn't have his good stuff today," said Wallace. "But he got into the flow of the game and realized the importance of those situations. There are going to be two or three times when the game is on the line and the real good pitchers understand that. That's what puts those guys into a special category as pitchers."

The Phillies, meanwhile, were in tip-the-cap mode, recognizing Schilling's ability to get tougher when the game was there for the taking.

"He settled in, and when you give a guy like him a chance like that, it's tough because they smell a win," said Thome, referring to the Sox' comeback from a 3-0 deficit to a 4-3 advantagte.

"He went from 92 to 97. You give him a little edge and he's going to get you. Give him credit. He's good," said Thome.

"We knew he didn't have his best stuff early," added Philadelphia manager Larry Bowa, "but he made pitches when he had to. That's why he's a good pitcher. He had a couple of jams and reached back and did what he had to do."

The Sox did what they've had to do to win recently, that is, mash the baseball, led by their potent heart of the lineup -- David Ortiz (homer, double, three RBI), Ramirez (two doubles, three RBI) and Garciaparra (go-ahead two-run double).

And Schilling, with bullpen help from Alan Embree, Mike Timlin and Keith Foulke, made sure the lead held up while the Sox' offense kept pouring it on, ending a 3-3 homestand on a positive note.