01:00 AM EDT on Friday, June 9, 2006

BY STEVEN KRASNER
Journal Sports Writer

NEW YORK -- Jason Varitek's night got off to a pretty awful start.

The Red Sox' slumping captain bounced into a home-to-first double play with the bases filled and one out in the first inning. And only a double-clutch by Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez saved him from another double play on yet another weak swing in the fourth.

But in the end, it was Varitek's bat and baserunning smarts, not to mention a solid, if a bit inconsistent, outing from Curt Schilling that enabled the Red Sox to tumble New York, 9-3, last night at jam-packed Yankee Stadium and avert a three-game sweep in the rain-shortened series.

Varitek ripped an opposite-field RBI single in the sixth that started the Sox' comeback, and later took advantage of ex-teammate Johnny Damon's weak arm in tagging at second and going to third just before Alex Gonzalez's go-ahead double off the glove of Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

And in the seventh, Varitek turned on a fastball from Scott Proctor and crushed it to right for a three-run homer that sparked a five-run splurge that made it a 9-3 game.

Both hits impressed manager Terry Francona and Schilling.

"Tek has been battling so hard to get through what he's been going through. We like three-run homers, and that ball got out of here in a hurry. But when you're hitting the ball to the opposite field, it means you have good balance," said Francona of Varitek, who was 6-for-23 on the trip and down to .236 for the season before going 3-for-5 last night.

"Tek has been working so hard (on his hitting)," Schilling said. "To see him put a beautiful swing on the ball (for the three-run homer) was great."

The triumph pulled Boston to within a half-game of the first-place Yankees in the A.L. East. When the Red Sox left Fenway Park almost two weeks ago for their longest road trip of the year, they were two games ahead of New York.

Boston went 4-5 on the journey, with a rainout Thursday in the Bronx. The win snapped a four-game losing streak to the Yankees, knotting the season series at 5-5.

"It was a good way to end a tough road trip," said Schilling.

Until the sixth, though, it seemed as if the Sox were destined to lose and fall 2 1/2 games behind the Yankees. New York's Jaret Wright was working out of one jam after another and Schilling was giving up homers on fat, flat splitters.

The right-hander was victimized by Damon (off the foul-pole screen in the first), Bernie Williams (second) and Robinson Cano (fifth), blasts that propelled New York to a 3-1 lead.

Wright, though, fell apart in the fifth. And Varitek helped send him to the showers with his single to left. Later, by tagging up on Kevin Youkilis' tying sacrifice fly, he altered the Yankees' defense a tad.

Instead of first and second with one out, which would have enabled A-Rod to play a bit deeper for Gonzalez in double-play depth, it was first and third because Varitek alertly tagged up. So Rodriguez was pulled in a step or two in case he had to cut down Varitek, representing the go-ahead run, at the plate.

Gonzalez hit a sharp hopper to A-Rod. Because of where he was playing, Rodriguez was caught a bit in between hops and didn't look anything like the Gold Glover he was last year. The ball bounced off his glove on a weak backhand attempt to field the ball and rolled into left, giving Boston a 4-3 advantage. The play originally was ruled an error but later was changed, with Gonzalez credited with a double.

Varitek's homer and a subsequent two-run single by Coco Crisp in the eighth made it easy for Schilling (9-2) to become the league's first nine-game winner, tying the New York Mets' Tom Glavine for the most wins in the majors. It was the 201st victory of Schilling's career.

Schilling allowed only four hits -- all for extra bases. Aside from the homers, the Yanks' only other hit was a double by Damon in the third.

"It was kind of a weird game," said Schilling, who threw only three pitches from the stretch position all night. "I made four mistakes. I left three splitters up for two homers and a double. And I left a slider up for another homer (Williams'). I've got to eliminate my mistakes."

Mistakes such as those, though, were few and far between, even if they did boost Schilling's season-homer total to 13, all of which have come on the road, including six at Yankee Stadium in his two starts in New York this season.

Schilling wasn't exactly blowing the Yankees away. He fanned only three while the game was in doubt. But he was getting outs, and he was getting the New York batters to hit the ball on the ground in an efficient 96-pitch, eight-inning outing. Of the 24 outs he recorded, 13 came on ground balls, which is uncharacteristic for Schilling.

"I was able to keep the ball down," said Schilling. "They have some hitters that you have to keep the ball down in the strike zone, and we did that."

As a result, the Sox ended the trip with a win.

skrasner@projo.com / (401) 277-7340