Rainout against Baltimore comes with Boston trailing by two runs and the team's bullpen in need of a rest on this long trip.

08:38 AM EDT on Wednesday, July 28, 2004

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

AP photo Tim Wakefield releases a knuckball during the second inning of last night's game, which was postponed in the top of the third.

BALTIMORE -- On Saturday, with the rain falling and the Fenway Park outfield waterlogged, Red Sox players vehemently opposed a postponement of their scheduled game with the New York Yankees, imploring team management to make every effort to make the field playable.

But last night, in rainy Baltimore, the Red Sox weren't at all disappointed when their game with the Orioles was postponed following a 76-minute delay.

No makeup date was immediately announced.

For one thing, the Sox were trailing, 4-2, at the time as the Orioles belted two homers in the first two innings off Tim Wakefield. The Sox responded with two runs of their own in the third, on an RBI double by Gabe Kapler and a run-scoring single by Johnny Damon.

For another, the Sox' fatigued bullpen could use a day of rest, particularly with 10 games still remaining on their longest road trip of the season.

Wakefield, in particular, could use some time off after throwing just 40 pitches last night. The knuckleballer is still struggling after being struck on the right shoulder by a line drive on July 17.

In his last start, Wakefield tossed seven shutout innings against the Orioles at Fenway, but it's clear that he's not yet fully recovered.

"I didn't feel great," said Wakefield after he

surrendered a solo homer to Melvin Mora in the first inning and a two-run homer to B.J. Surhoff and another run in the second. "I felt all right. It's just a matter of getting a lot of that stuff out of there, beneath the scapula. It's taken me a full five days to get ready to pitch."

Wakefield has scaled back on his between-starts routine, adding: "I'm trying not to waste too many bullets."

The Red Sox will now stay on schedule with the rainout, sending Curt Schilling out to pitch tonight in the series finale. Wakefield's next turn will come Monday at Tropicana Field against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Had play resumed last night after the long delay, manager Terry Francona said the Sox would have come back with Bronson Arroyo -- Friday's scheduled starter -- and then scrambled to find someone to take Arroyo's spot at the Metrodome that night.

The rainout was a welcome breather for the team's relievers, who have been used often of late. Stalwarts Mike Timlin and Alan Embree are tied for the team lead in appearances with 47 apiece, and newcomer Terry Adams, obtained Saturday, has already pitched two days in a row since arriving from Toronto.

"This gives some guys a day off," said Wakefield. "That's not a bad thing at the start of a long road trip."

"It might help," agreed Francona, noting the heavy workload for his pitching staff of late.

Rain is expected for much of the day today, making the prospect of a day-night doubleheader today untenable.

In August, the Red Sox and Orioles share two common off-days -- Aug. 5 and Aug. 19. The two clubs are also off on Aug. 30, but that off-day for the Sox comes in between two home series. A more likely scenario would be for the teams to play a doubleheader on the final weekend of the season -- Oct. 1-3 -- the Sox' final trip to Camden Yards in 2004.