BOSTON — Kevin Youkilis saw his 23-game hitting streak come to an end yesterday, but in so doing, earned the respect of his teammates and the Fenway Park crowd.

Youkilis had five plate appearances, but had to be satisfied with three walks. His final at-bat came in the eighth with the Sox comfortably ahead, 11-6, and Luis Vizcaino on the mound.

On a 3-and-1 pitch, and the crowd roaring in anticipation, Youkilis took ball four. As he trotted to first base, the crowd stood and gave him an ovation.

“That was great,” said Youkilis of the reception. “It shows how much the fans are into the game. They’ve been very supportive.”

Manager Terry Francona, noting Youkilis’ patience with the streak on the line, said the first baseman was “maturing right before our eyes.”

“It’s nothing we didn’t already know,” said starting pitcher Curt Schilling of Youkilis’ willingness to take a walk with the streak on the line. “There’s no individual thing more important than winning in our clubhouse.”

When a reporter asked Youkilis if he might have been tempted several seasons ago to swing at a 3-and-1 pitch to keep a streak going, Youkilis responded: “You don’t know who I am to ask that question. I don’t swing at balls. I couldn’t have hit that pitch.”

Though he may have been mildly disappointed over the end of the streak bettered just 13 times in franchise history, Youkilis chose to emphasize the positive.

“I think I had great at-bats,” Youkilis said. “I got on base three times in five at-bats. If they’re not going to pitch to you in certain situations, you’ve got to take your walks.”

During the streak, Youkilis hit .426 (43-for-101) with 13 doubles, 6 homers, 21 RBI, 5 walks and a .468 on-base percentage.

Schilling runs out of gas

Schilling has yet to beat the Yankees in three starts this season. He pitched five-plus innings yesterday and allowed four runs, leaving with a no-decision.

Schilling allowed just one run through the first five innings, but couldn’t record an out in the sixth. He yielded a single to Hideki Matsui and a walk to Alex Rodriguez before being rocked for a three-run homer by Jorge Posada, which landed in the visitors’ bullpen.

“A splitter that didn’t split,” sighed Schilling. “Just like where I threw the one before that. It stayed up in the zone and (Posada) took it for a strike. Generally, when I hang one like that, I can come back and bury the next one because I know how to make the adjustments. I didn’t and he knocked it out.”

From the time between the rain delay that took place in the bottom of the fourth to when Schilling took the mound in the top of the fifth, there was nearly an hour of down time.

“I felt different coming out of it,” said Schilling, “and I didn’t have a loose arm like I expected to. But I still felt I had good-enough stuff. I just wasn’t able to pitch.”

Mitchell: No comment

Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, who was put in charge of Major League Baseball’s steroid investigation, was in attendance.

In the dugout before the game, Mitchell declined to comment about the status of the investigation, which has been hindered by his lack of subpoena power. The Major League Baseball Players Association has advised players not to speak with Mitchell without legal counsel.

Mitchell is a part owner in the Red Sox and has the title of director.

Drew is hamstrung

J.D. Drew was out of the lineup yesterday with a hamstring injury that forced him out of Friday’s game against the Yankees prematurely.

Drew’s injury is where the hamstring connects to his right knee and he said he first felt it about a week and a half ago and has been working with the training staff to try to fix the problem.

“It’s gradually gotten worse and worse,” said the right fielder. “I don’t think we exactly know what we’re dealing with.”

He said he did not have an MRI taken and even Francona said it’s possible Drew could be in the lineup tonight. Before that decision is made, however, Drew said he wants to make sure the irritation he’s feeling is gone before he plays.

“I’m just trying not to jeopardize a long stint,” he said. “I want to deal with it now and not fight it all year.”

During his scrum with the local media before yesterday’s game, Francona called it hamstring tendinitis but the manager is hoping a day of rest does the job. Francona also said he doesn’t think a trip on the DL will be needed.

Around the bases

Dustin Pedroia, who looked lost at the plate in the early going, stretched his hitting streak to a career-best 12 games by notching his second consecutive three-hit game. Over that stretch the Sox’ second baseman has batted .500 (21-for-42) with five doubles, a homer and six RBI, raising his season’s average from .253 to .333. He has had three straight multiple-hit games and six in his last eight games. … Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek hit consecutive homers in the sixth, marking the third time this season the Sox have gone back-to-back. … Hideki Okajima claimed his first big-league victory. … Boston is 29-1 when scoring at least five runs.

skrasner@projo.com