Baseball

RED SOX PITCHING

Strong from Start to Finish

With dominant back-to-back wins to open the season--in 14 innings he gave up just eight hits and three walks while striking out nine-- Boston righthander Curt Schilling served notice that he's an ace again, at 39. Last Saturday in Baltimore he was clinging to a 2-1 lead with runners on first and second in the seventh inning, when he reached back on his 114th and final pitch of the night and blew a 96-mph fastball (his fastest of the game) past Orioles first baseman Jeff Conine for strike three.

Schilling's power was curtailed last season after November 2004 surgery to repair the famously detached tendon in his right ankle, which prevented him from properly pushing off the pitching rubber. Doctors told him that he'd need 18 months for a full recovery; he hits the 18-month mark next month. "All spring I'd said that I haven't felt this good since 2002 [when he went 23-7 with the Diamondbacks]," Schilling says. "Now I'm able to go out there and back that up. I feel great; velocity-wise, when I need it, I have it."

Schilling's status was a big question for Boston; another was the effectiveness of the bullpen, which had the second-highest ninth-inning ERA in the majors last year (5.11). The Red Sox answered that one in a surprising way last week: In three save situations manager Terry Francona tapped 25-year-old righthander Jonathan Papelbon, who was a closer at Mississippi State but ultimately projects as a starter, instead of 2003 All-Star righty Keith Foulke, who has had two knee operations since last July.

A 6'4" 230-pounder who attacks the strike zone with mid-90s fastballs, Papelbon dazzled in his first two save chances, preserving one-run wins over the Rangers and the Orioles by retiring three straight hitters in each game. Francona has yet to officially anoint the rookie as the closer, but he has indicated that Foulke, who through Sunday had allowed three hits and one earned run in three innings, will have to prove he's back in form to get another shot at the job.