01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, June 16, 2005

BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- For the early part of the season, Red Sox starter Bronson Arroyo was the leader of the staff. Last night, he became a follower and it could not have come at a better time for the olde-towne team.

The crafty right-hander proved crucial for Boston at the start of the season when both Curt Schilling and David Wells were on the disabled list. Arroyo and Matt Clement emerged as the top hurlers for the Sox as both jumped out to 4-0 starts.

However, after flirting with a no-hitter in Detroit on May 5 -- Arroyo's last win before last night -- he slipped into a nasty slump. He suffered through three losses, four no-decisions and a six-game suspension before bouncing back last night with a solid outing as Boston defeated the Cincinnati Reds at Fenway Park, 6-1.

"From the first hitter on," said Boston manager Terry Francona, "he attempted to establish his fastball. You could see it in his delivery -- he was more aggressive and more confident."

Arroyo (5-3) surrendered only one run on six hits with eight strikeouts and two walks through seven innings. It was his first victory on home turf since Aug. 26.

"I felt good coming out of the bullpen," he said. "I knew once I threw my first couple of pitches, I had better stuff than my last three starts."

His win last night followed a string of solid outings by Red Sox starters, including Tim Wakefield (one run on four hits in seven innings against the Cubs on Sunday), Clement (three runs on six hits in eight innings against the Reds on Monday) and David Wells (one-hit shutout through seven innings against the Reds on Tuesday).

With Arroyo's outing, Boston starters have posted a 1.55 E.R.A over the last four games.

"Everything is contagious," he said. "When you're pitching good, everybody is pitching good and you just want it to roll. You just pick each other up and when things are going bad, it can be the same."

Arroyo's teammates know how important the starting pitching has been.

"Wakefield, Clement, Wells and Bronson -- that's the name of the game," said Kevin Millar. "If they start like this, then we're going to win."

During his recent woes, Arroyo also served a six-game suspension for his actions during a bench-clearing melee in Tampa on April 24. The league-imposed hiatus seemed to put him in a funk, but he finally bounced back last night.

"I don't think it helped because he was on a roll," said Francona of Arroyo's suspension. "That kind of interrupted it. I hope later on down the road those extra days will be good for him, because it's a long year."

While Arroyo kept the Cincinnati hitters off balance, slugger David Ortiz led the Red Sox offense with a pair of doubles and three RBI.

His RBI-double in the third inning gave Boston a 1-0 lead. Edgar Renteria drilled a two-out double to left-center field before Big Papi drove him with a double that rattled around the right-field wall.

Boston ripped Reds starter Aaron Harang for four runs in the fifth as Ortiz roped an RBI-double and Bill Mueller added a two-run single for a 5-0 advantage. Manny Ramirez contributed a RBI-single in the sixth before the Reds' Ken Griffey singled to lead off the seventh, reached third on a Wily Mo Pena single to left, and later scored on a wild pitch. Cincinnati's first run of the game snapped a 16-inning scoring drought.

With a three-game sweep of the Reds, the Sox rebounded from a lowly 2-4 road trip. Boston outscored Cincinnati, 23-4, in the series.

"We played a good series," said Francona. "We needed to."

More importantly, Arroyo needed to.