BOSTON – Hit by pitch? Strike three? Foul ball?

Questions, questions in the ninth inning of last night’s Boston-Cleveland game. And the controversial, disputed answer favored the Red Sox, helping Boston hold on for a 5-3 victory between the top two teams in the American League.

To set the scene — the Indians had runners at second and third with one out after rallying for a run off flame-throwing closer Jonathan Papelbon.

Papelbon had a 1-and-2 count on Casey Blake. He fired a high hard one, at 96 mph to Blake.

This is when it gets murky. The ball ricocheted to the backstop.

Did it hit Blake on the hand? That’s what plate umpire Rick Reed ruled, sending Blake to first, seemingly filling the bases with one out and bringing fearsome Travis Hafner to the plate against a struggling Papelbon.

The Sox implored Reed to check with first-base umpire Chuck Meriwether. And Meriwether ruled Blake’s bat had crossed the front of the plate, making it a strike, in this case, strike three, a vital punchout for Papelbon.

The ball, meanwhile, was dead once it hit Blake’s hand, so even though it was rolling around behind the plate, the runners couldn’t advance.

There was much disagreement from the Indians over the call, and even Papelbon admitted he didn’t agree, though the right-hander, who fanned Hafner for the final out after the argument finally petered out, wasn’t going to complain.

“Casey would have gone to first base if Chuck hadn’t ruled the bat had crossed the zone,” said Cleveland manager Eric Wedge. “The pitch wasn’t low. It was up. He had to lean his upper body back [to bend out of the way of the ball]. It’s pretty hard to get the bat head across the zone in that case. My argument was that I didn’t think he swung.”

Blake watched the play on replay several times after the game. He was mystified by Meriwether’s call.

“I don’t know how Chuck can say I had upper body rotation to swing,” said Blake. “It doesn’t look like an attempt to swing, either. I don’t think I swung at it.”

Did the ball hit him in the hand, he was asked.

“Uh, huh,” he said nodding, his mouth full of chicken and vegetables.

Papelbon, though, thought it was a foul ball.

“That ball didn’t hit his hand,” said Papelbon. “It was a tough call. I know everybody told me it hit the bat but I didn’t see that, to be honest.”

Split-finger proves a winner

Over his past few games, the Sox’ Curt Schilling had a difficult time commanding his fastball.

And when your fastball generally is 88-89 mph, with an occasional situational bump up to the low 90s, that can be a problem.

So last night, Schilling and catcher Jason Varitek hatched a different plan from the outset. They went more with his split-finger fastball, and with great success.

Schilling had some good dip to his splitter over the first two innings especially, helping him rack up five strikeouts. Of those whiffs, four came on the splitter, ranging in speeds from 82-84. He fanned all three batters in the first on splitters.

The right-hander notched strikeout number one on Cleveland’s leadoff batter, Grady Sizemore, who tipped a 1-and-2 splitter into Varitek’s mitt. Casey Blake was unable to get a piece of a 3-and-2 split, and Travis Hafner was unable to hit the fourth straight splitter he saw in his at-bat.

Johnny Peralta foul-tipped a splitter for a punchout in the second, but with the Indians thinking splitter with two strikes on them, Schilling was able to blow a 92-mph heater past Ryan Garko.

From the fourth through the sixth innings, Schilling notched four more strikeouts, thanks mostly to his fastball.

Schilling’s 10th and final strikeout came on a 93-mph fastball to David Dellucci in the seventh.

skrasner@projo.com