BOSTON — This is getting monotonous. And Red Sox fans would love to see it continue as long as possible.

The team’s starting pitching, expected to be an area of strength, is living up to its billing. Ten games into the season, there are positives everywhere.

Yesterday, it was Curt Schilling’s turn. He went eight excellent innings, allowing only four hits as he led Boston to an 8-0 triumph over Anaheim. That meant he was just keeping up with his fellow starters.

Friday night, Tim Wakefield went seven innings, giving up just one run and five hits. Before that, Daisuke Matsuzaka turned in what will be recorded as a quality start, allowing three runs and eight hits over seven innings. The previous day might have been the best of all as Josh Beckett went seven outstanding innings, yielding only two hits and one run, with no walks and eight strikeouts.

That adds up to a four-game stretch in which the Boston starters have gone 29 innings and allowed only five runs as the Sox have outscored their opponents, 32-7.

It’s a trend Boston fans could live with all season. Starting pitchers simply do not put up those kind of numbers very often. Not any more.

“If we pitch deep into the game, there’s a pretty good chance were doing OK,” manager Terry Francona said yesterday.

Right now, the starting rotation is better than OK. Sure, the sample size is small. Sure, the conditions the have not been typical. It has been so cold in so many places that pitchers have had a distinct advantage over hitters across Major League Baseball. And yes, the opponents have not been the strongest this team will face.

Still, it is becoming harder with each passing day to imagine the Red Sox having many extended losing streaks. Their rotation gives the team a huge advantage.

The team has allowed three or fewer runs in eight of its 10 games. Any team that can hold opponents to an average of one hit per inning is rock solid in Major League Baseball in this day and age. The Sox have allowed only 67 hits in 87 innings overall. Those are awesome numbers. The pitchers have struck out 69 and walked only 26. That would make for an incredible ratio over the course of a season.

Boston began yesterday second in the American League to Oakland in earned run average, at 3.12, and second in the majors, to the Mets, in opponents’ batting average, at .213. Both those numbers went down after what Schilling did.

The 40-year-old Schilling keeps acting like a kid trying to pick up new tricks. He has been working since spring training on a change-up. The pitch got him into trouble when he lost the season opener in Kansas City. Yesterday, it was much better.

“I thought I threw some good ones today. I got a couple of outs with it,” he said. “It’s coming.”

“He basically utilized all five of his pitches,” said catcher Jason Varitek. “It’s important for all of our starters [to pitch deep]. He’s had two huge quality starts in a row and both of them we needed very much.”

Schilling’s 103-pitch performance marked the first time since Sept. 21, 2004 that he went eight innings without allowing a run. His only disappointment was in not going the distance.

“I absolutely thought I was going to finish that game, right up through the seventh,” he said. After keeping his pitch count low, he needed 28 pitches in that inning, including 11 to Jose Molina before striking him out. When he was younger, he might have argued to be able to go out for the ninth. Not any more.

“Going back out for the ninth would have been me trying to get a shutout as opposed to me trying to make 33 or 34 starts and be as healthy as I can be for every one,” he said.

On this team, he is part of what could be a special rotation. Sox fans accustomed to seeing their team win with power, or with one special pitcher (like Pedro Martinez or Roger Clemens) will have to change their thinking.

As a team, the Sox have hit only six home runs as they have won six of their first 10, even with the three-run blast into the bleachers by David Ortiz in the eighth inning yesterday. The Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez has more homers (seven) all by himself.

The Sox have a slugging percentage of .376. Manny Ramirez is hitting .194, has yet to hit a home run and has only four RBI.

pkenyon@projo.com