BOSTON -- Curt Schilling worked the first seven innings, limiting the Devil Rays to six hits and one run in improving his record to 15-7 and lowering his earned-run average to 3.97.

Manager Terry Francona had Schilling go out to the mound to warm up for the eighth, but before the right-hander threw a pitch, the skipper walked to the mound and lifted him so he could receive an ovation from the crowd.

Schilling took off his cap and waved it to the fans as they cheered him in what was his last outing of the year. He was in line to start Sunday's season finale, but that outing will go to either Kason Gabbard, Devern Hansack or Kyle Snyder, said Francona.

Schilling, whose ankle surgery after the 2004 season contributed to a sub-par season a year ago, fanned nine and uncharacteristically walked four. He allowed only one run, in the first inning, on a two-out walk to Carl Crawford and an RBI double to right by Norton.

"I thought it was a nice sendoff to the way for him," said Francona. "It was a constant battle for him (in 2006). But from where he was, the obstacles he had, I thought he did a great job."

Schilling, who was 14-4 on Aug. 4, was tougher on himself.

"Mentally I never felt I was consistent," said a somber Schilling, who went from Aug. 30 to Sept. 19 without making a start because of a strained right latissimus.

"I wasn't where I needed to be mentally. I was told (as you get older) that you have to work your brains as hard as your body. I took [the mental approach] for granted. That's disappointing. About eight weeks ago I was looking at a 23-24-25-win season, and I'm starting here tonight trying to get my 15th win. I will go back and look at what went wrong, evaluate it and figure it out," he said.

"I should have won a lot more games. I should have pitched better," said Schilling, who, along the way this year, notched his 200th win and 3,000th strikeout.

"If I come back, I don't want to [just] pitch; I want to come back and be the best. It will be the hardest offseason of my life," said Schilling.

Schilling, who is due in the neighborhood of $14 million next year, which he has proclaimed will be his last, was asked about his use of the word "if."

"Going into next season," said a cryptic Schilling, who then got up and abruptly put an end of the media session.

Big Papi keeps on delivering

To say it was a banner night for the Sox' David Ortiz was an understatement.

First, Ortiz was honored in a brief pregame ceremony for having set the Sox' single-season home run record, passing Jimmie Foxx, who clubbed 50 homers in 1938. At the time of the ceremony, Ortiz had 53, including 32 on the road, which tied Babe Ruth for the league record for homers away from home.

A large banner was hung from the Green Monster in left-center, showing Boston's top-10 single-season home-run hitters. Nanci Foxx Canaday, the late Jimmie Foxx's daughter, and the Babe's granddaughter, Linda Ruth Tosetti, were on hand for the ceremony.

Then the game against the Devil Rays started, and Ortiz was the star of the show in Boston's 5-1 victory, clouting a homer and driving in three runs.

Big Papi rendered the banner out of date in the third inning, crushing a solo homer into the seats to the right off Tampa Bay reliever Jason Hammel, boosting his season total to 54 and tying him for the ninth-highest total in A.L. history.

Then in the fourth, Ortiz, who had singled to left in the first inning, delivered a two-out, two-run single to left that capped a four-run uprising and gave the Red Sox a 5-1 lead. In the seventh, Ortiz was robbed of a 4-for-4 night by first baseman Greg Norton, who stole an extra-base hit from the Sox' designated hitter with a dive toward the line.

And just for good measure, Ortiz's charitable side showed up again, too. It was announced that Ortiz's 52nd home-run ball was to be auctioned off online (www.redsox.com) beginning at 11 this morning and continuing through Friday at 7 p.m., for the benefit of the Boys & Girls Clubs and the Plaza de la Salud Hospital de Ninos in the Dominican Republic. They are the same beneficiaries of a similar auction for home-run ball No. 50.

Ortiz is keeping the record-setting 51st home-run ball for his personal trophy case.

Surgery for Clement

Matt Clement underwent surgery on his mystifyingly weak right shoulder yesterday and Francona said that noted orthopedist James Andrews of Birmingham, Ala., had to do "a little more extensive (surgery) than we had hoped for."

Francona also said there "was some significant damage in there," but stopped short of being more descriptive of what Andrews found. The Sox later said that privacy laws prevented them from saying much about the surgery until they can receive permission from Clement.

Red-hot Rocco

Cumberland's Rocco Baldelli, who spent the better part of the first two months of the season on the disabled list because of hamstring troubles, has been on a tear.

Over the last five weeks, Baldelli, who turned 25 on Monday, had hit .362 since Aug. 18 (45-for-125). Only Colorado's Garrett Atkins (.376), Philadelphia's Ryan Howard (.374) and the Yankees' Robinson Cano (.373) had higher batting averages over that stretch.

The Rays' center fielder's surge has coincided with better health, the move to the leadoff spot and some alterations at the plate, the former Hendricken star said before last night's game. He has clubbed five leadoff homers this season, tying the franchise career record, and is tied with the Yankees' Johnny Damon for the league lead in that category.

Overall, Baldelli, who made his season debut on June 7 after having been out of action since Oct. 3, 2004, because of knee, elbow and hamstring troubles, was hitting .308 with 14 homers and 52 RBI in only 87 games. He went 0-for-5 in his first game at Fenway since the 2004 season.

Manny being Manny!

Francona talked with Manny Ramirez yesterday when the left fielder was working out, and after the discussion, the manager thought he'd have the slugger in last night's starting lineup.

But an hour later, Ramirez, who has appeared in only one game since Sept. 9 (as a pinch-hitter last Saturday), called Francona and told him that he wasn't able to play, so he was scratched from the lineup. Francona said Ramirez mentioned he was hoping to play Friday in the opener of the season-ending three-game set with Baltimore, but at this point, Francona seemed to indicate there wasn't much point of him doing so.

Ramirez typically was not in a talkative mood, but he sent some words in the direction of a few media members who were in the clubhouse about an hour before the first pitch.

"You guys got the story. Get out," he snapped.

Around the bases

Coco Crisp had surgery on his fractured left index finger yesterday, with doctors placing a pin in the area to stabilize it. Francona said it wasn't certain if the pin would be removed at some point, but that he didn't expect Crisp's offseason conditioning plans to be affected by the surgery. . . . Shortstop Alex Gonzalez was scratched from the starting lineup because of what the team called "personal reasons." He was replaced by Alex Cora. . . . Tim Wakefield will start Saturday's game. . . . Kevin Youkilis scored on Ortiz's fourth-inning single. It was his 100th run of the year.

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