BOSTON -- Clearly, it was not Curt Schilling's night.

The Sox' ace right-hander was hit very hard early in last night's game against the Angels. He was consistently missing his target and leaving splitters up in the zone.

By the third inning, the Angels had tattooed Schilling for six runs on nine hits, including three home-run bombs in the third inning as the Angels built a 6-1 lead. And that doesn't include the several rockets that sizzled their way into Red Sox gloves.

During the shelling administered by Orlando Cabrera, Vladimir Guerrero and Juan Rivera in the third, Jermaine Van Buren was throwing in the Red Sox' bullpen. Neither Sox interim pitching coach Al Nipper nor manager Terry Francona ventured out of the dugout to talk to Schilling during the onslaught.

When Schilling finally secured the final out of the third, on his 63rd pitch of the game, and trudged slowly to the dugout, it wouldn't have been a surprise to see Francona call it a night for Schilling and turn to Van Buren, saving his ace for another game.

But give Schilling credit. He didn't come out. It was a mess he created, and, being a good competitive teammate, he refused to bail out.

Schilling threw two more innings, allowing only a scratch infield single while facing the minimum six batters over that stretch. He held the Angels in check, keeping it a 6-1 game. He stopped the bleeding.

And that allowed the Sox' offense to battle back. Van Buren finally was brought into the game, to start the sixth, by which time Boston had whittled its deficit to 6-4.

Lapses lead to Sox run

The statistics show that the Angels are the worst fielding team in the American League.

Their defensive weaknesses, both physical and mental, were on display in the first inning last night, resulting in a run for the Red Sox.

With a runner at first and no outs, Alex Cora hit a bouncer to first baseman Howie Kendrick with Kevin Youkilis running on the pitch. Kendrick, normally a second baseman, still tried to gun down Youkilis at second base.

It was a questionable decision. Normally, especially early in the game (and with the Angels leading, 1-0, at that) the play is to take the easy out at first.

Kendrick actually made a strong throw right over the bag. But because it got there so late, just as Youkilis was sliding into the bag, shortstop Orlando Cabrera moved to the right-field side of the bag. Had he stayed on the bag he would have been risking injury.

So the ball went into left field, with Youkilis scrambling to his feet and making it to third base.

He scored on a play that featured a mental lapse by pitcher John Lackey. With runners at first and third and one out, Manny Ramirez drilled a shot up the middle that struck Lackey on his right thigh and ricocheted about 10 feet on the grass toward first.

Lackey must have thought the bases were loaded and there was a chance for a force at the plate. He pounced on the ball, wheeled and made a throw to the plate to get Youkilis.

Only, there was no force. Catcher Mike Napoli would have had to have caught the ball and tagged Youkilis for the out. The throw was wide and late, costing the Angels yet another out. Youkilis would have scored anyway, but Lackey should have thrown to first for the easy out.

Angels try a new shift

Live and learn.

On Saturday, the Angels were stung by David Ortiz's walkoff ground-ball single through the infield dirt where the shortstop normally plays. Cabrera had been behind the second-base bag on the Angels' version of the Ortiz shift.

Last night, with runners at first and third, Cabrera was stationed about 10 feet to the shortstop's side of the second-base bag. In this case, though, it didn't matter where Cabrera was standing. Ortiz whiffed.

Setting it straight

A correction of an item here yesterday, as pointed out by a couple of umpires. The hands do not become part of the bat.

The Sox' Alex Gonzalez was hit on the hand but not awarded first base during Saturday's game because the umpires ruled Gonzalez had offered at the pitch, so it was called a strike.

It was not ruled a foul ball. When a pitched ball hits any part of the batter's body the ball is dead, and the runners can't advance. A ball that hits a batter is never a foul ball or a fair ball. The hands never become part of the bat.

Affleck misses out

Kendrick corralled a foul popup next to the Red Sox dugout in the second, taking the ball away from a famous Boston actor in the process.

Ben Affleck, who was with his wife, actress Jennifer Garner, was sitting in his seat next to the Red Sox dugout, courtesy of Boston owner John Henry, got to his feet when Alex Gonzalez's popup drifted toward the seats.

But Kendrick also tracked the ball, reaching over the low fence for the catch, robbing Affleck of a souvenir.

Kennedy gets no credit

The Angels' Adam Kennedy wound up with a frustrating sixth-inning at-bat with the bases loaded and none out.

He laced a 3-and-2 pitch to center, which was caught by a diving Coco Crisp. So he was robbed of an RBI hit. And he didn't even get an RBI on a sacrifice fly because Rivera, running from third, ran down the baseline, assuming the ball would drop in for a hit. So Rivera had to retreat to the bag, too late to then tag up and score.

As a result, Kennedy didn't get a hit, he didn't get an RBI, and he was charged with a time at-bat because he was robbed of a sacrifice fly, which does not count as a time at-bat.

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