Though not feeling his best, Wade Miller turns in another solid effort as the Boston Red Sox hold off Atlanta.

01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, May 21, 2005

BY STEVEN KRASNER
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- The day off after a 2-4 West Coast road trip apparently helped the Boston Red Sox clear their heads in time for the start of a brief three-game interleague matchup with the Atlanta Braves last night.

The refreshed Sox turned in a mostly textbook illustration of how to win games in holding off the Braves, 4-3, in front of the customary sellout crowd at Fenway Park.

Slumping Johnny Damon crushed a leadoff triple to the triangle off Atlanta starter Tim Hudson and scored on a groundout by Edgar Renteria, setting the offensive tone for the Red Sox, who received a solo homer to center from Jason Varitek and a two-run shot from Bill Mueller off Pesky's Pole in the second for a 4-0 lead.

Starting pitcher Wade Miller sparkled, limiting Atlanta to one run on three hits in 6 1/3 innings in earning his first victory for Boston. Mike Timlin retired all five batters he faced, fanning five of them. And Keith Foulke notched his 11th save.

Okay, it wasn't a perfect night. Renteria stranded seven baserunners, including a pair of two-out groundouts with the bases loaded.

Foulke, meanwhile, struggled again. The right-hander was greeted by Chipper Jones's double off the wall in the ninth, bringing some groans and scattered boos from the crowd.

The uneasiness that settled over Fenway continued when Andruw Jones crushed a one-out RBI triple off the Sox' bullpen fence near the triangle and Johnny Estrada

smacked an infield single off Foulke's leg. But he preserved Miller's well-deserved win by getting Julio Franco to bang into a game-ending double play.

"What's important to us is the win," said manager Terry Francona.

What may be most important for the Sox in the long haul, though, was the performance of the man who got the win. It was Miller's first big-league win since last June 20, when he was pitching for the Houston Astros.

About 10 months ago, Miller's right shoulder was hurting. He tried to pitch through it but had to call it quits last July. The diagnosis was a frayed rotator cuff.

The win was meaningful to Miller for two distinct reasons, he said.

"It feels good to get the win. A lot of hard work paid off," said Miller, who lowered his earned-run average to 3.18, giving up only a fifth-inning run on a single by Estrada and a double by Brian Jordan.

And despite the solid numbers in the boxscore, Miller, making his third Red Sox start since being activated from the disabled list, said he wasn't at the top of his game.

"This was the worst game I felt out of my first three," said Miller, who threw a season-high 106 pitches in his longest outing of the year. "I just didn't have a feel for it. The ball wasn't coming out as good as in my other starts. It was one of those days when I didn't have it.

"Not every pitcher goes out there and wins feeling his greatest. You have to be able to do it when you're not feeling so hot. That makes you a better pitcher, knowing you can get wins when you're not feeling your best. I knew I wasn't going to throw fastballs by a lot of hitters, so I tried to keep the ball away from the meat of the bat," added Miller, who mixed in his fastball, curve, slider and changeup to good effect.

Francona, however, was impressed by Miller's outing.

"I think he's getting a little stronger," said Francona. "He's getting a little more stamina and he'll continue to do so. He knows how to pitch and he's got the weapons. He was outstanding."

Miller has even gotten the attention of his teammates. Timlin, in his 15th big-league season at the age of 39, says he has enjoyed watching Miller work.

"He's got a lot of heart out there," said Timlin. "To know what he has gone through to be back up here is awesome. There's things I can learn from watching him pitch."

The Red Sox, meanwhile, are learning they can count on Miller to keep them in a ballgame, which is the best news of all coming out of his three starts so far.