SEATTLE — The hope all along was that he would be the equivalent of a trading-deadline acquisition, akin to landing a front-line starter for the final two months of the season without having to sacrifice players or prospects in return.

Now, that day is almost here. Tomorrow night in Anaheim, for the first time in exactly seven weeks, Curt Schilling will start a game for the Red Sox.

Schilling spent almost the last two months strengthening his right shoulder joint in the hope that he can be far more efficient in the final third of the season than he was in the first third.

Though Schilling was a respectable 6-4 record with a 4.20 ERA in his first 15 starts, he was far from the pitcher the Sox had hoped he would be. For every one-hit masterpiece (June 7 in Oakland), there was a far-less-impressive outing, such as his final one in Atlanta (10 hits and six runs over 4 1/3 innings).

Equally concerning was the lack of strikeouts, reflecting his inability to finish hitters off and his declining velocity. In 23 1/3 innings pitched in June, Schilling fanned just 11 hitters and in his final start in Atlanta, he failed to record a single strikeout for the first time in more than a decade.

Finally, there was the regularity with which hitters were connecting against Schilling. Take away his one-hitter in Oakland and Schilling allowed a startling 28 hits in his last 14 1/3, a rate of nearly two hits per inning.

Since going on the disabled days after his last start, Schilling has begun a sort of second spring training, placed on a disciplined weight-training program designed to strengthen the muscles surrounding his right shoulder. Too often in the first half of the season, the weakness of Schilling’s shoulder joint resulted in a depleted fastball, measured at 88 rather his customary 92-93 mph.

For a pitcher who has won 213 games and registered better than 3,000 career strikeouts thanks largely on his ability to throw his fastball with precision, the loss of the weapon was disastrous.

At the time of his assignment to the disabled list, the Sox had the luxury of owning a nine-game cushion in the American League East standings. Going into last night’s middle game of their three-game series here with Seattle, that number had dipped to 6½ — manageable still, though not as comfortable.

In recent weeks, making three rehab starts for Pawtucket, each more dominant than the last, Schilling has expressed a renewed confidence about his arm strength, boasting that he hasn’t felt this strong in five years.

At the very least, Schilling can expect to benefit from the number of innings not thrown in the last seven weeks. Now 41, anything that keeps the odometer from climbing upward must be viewed as a positive.

Beyond that, the Sox are unsure what to expect from Schilling — both tomorrow night and for the remainder of the season.

“If he can go out there every five or six days,” said manager Terry Francona, “and be Curt Schilling, I think we’re comfortable with taking our chances with the wins and losses. Those kinds of things you can’t predict. There are too many variables.

“But if he can go and pitch like we know he can, that will be a huge boost for us. The last outing [in Atlanta], the ball was not coming out of his hand well. Hopefully, some of that inconsistency that plagued him will be gone.”

Of course, that will take some time to determine. Schilling will not face a strict pitch limit tomorrow against the Angels, but facing one of the more aggressive lineups in the American League should work to his advantage.

Notorious free-swingers, the Angels aren’t about to drive up his pitch count in the early innings, allowing Schilling to control the game, rather than the other way around.

In his absence, the Sox have found that they can survive without him. Starting tomorrow night, and continuing until the end of the season, the Sox will find out how much better they can be with him.

smcadam@projo.com