ANAHEIM, Calif., Oct. 5 -- Curt Schilling has pitched a lot better in big games than he did Tuesday.
Fortunately, he had a large margin for error, so everything worked out for the Boston Red Sox.
Curt Schilling pitches 6 2-3 effective innings as Boston's offense blasts the Angels for a 9-3 victory.
(Mark J. Terrill - AP)
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Schilling worked effectively into the seventh inning, Manny Ramirez and Kevin Millar homered during a seven-run burst in the fourth and the Red Sox beat the Anaheim Angels, 9-3, to open their American League playoff series.
Schilling said he felt "incredibly strong" in the bullpen before the game and had good velocity, but struggled otherwise.
"I knew I wasn't as sharp as I have been," he said. "Looking back, I made some mistakes today. I left some pitches over the plate. [But] solo home runs don't beat you."
Each team hit two homers, but Boston's produced five runs and Anaheim's only two.
And the Red Sox had an 8-0 lead after 3 1/2 innings.
"All you can ask from him is to go out there and give us a chance to win," said Millar, whose two-run homer triggered Boston's big inning. "We swung the bats enough to give him a lead, and he held it."
Schilling gave up nine hits and three runs, two earned, and allowed at least one base runner in every inning. He walked two and struck out four in 6 2/3 innings.
The 37-year-old right-hander entered with a 5-1 record and a 1.66 ERA in 11 previous postseason appearances.
Schilling also tweaked his right ankle and said afterward it was a little sore. But he said he doesn't believe it will create any problems.
Pedro Martinez will pitch against Anaheim's Bartolo Colon in Game 2 on Wednesday night before the best-of-five series moves to Boston.
"We're up 1-0. Tomorrow's starters will determine momentum going into the game," Schilling said. "This is a tough place to win. But we've got Pedro going. I'm pretty excited about that."
The Angels are in a familiar place, having lost series openers to the Yankees, Twins and Giants two years ago before rebounding to beat those teams en route to the World Series championship.
