Stymied yet again by their woeful inability to deliver in the clutch, Terry Francona's crew bowed quietly before Cleveland starter Jake Westbrook and a trio of relievers in a dispiriting 2-1 loss before 16,285 in the chill at Jacobs Field.
"Any time this team loses four games in a row, there's something terribly wrong," said Johnny Damon, who came within 90 feet of tying the score with one out in the ninth inning before the Sox stranded him.
Terribly wrong? How about going 2 for 13 with runners in scoring position to drop their league-worst average to .216? Or going hitless in their only at-bat with the bases loaded to fall to .189 in those situations? Or stranding 13 runners to increase their season total to 222, tops in the majors? Or suffering their final indignity by stranding Damon as former Sox farmhand Rafael Betancourt dispatched them for his first save of the season and only the second of his career?
Wrong enough? The Sox ended four innings with runners on third base.
"It's disappointing," said Brian Daubach, who ended the sixth inning on third after he had doubled with one out. "In close games, that's definitely the difference."
The loss shaved Boston's lead over the Yankees to a mere game, which might be dire if there weren't 137 games to play.
"If we keep grinding, somebody is going to get a big hit or a little hit," Francona said. "We just have to keep grinding and create more opportunities and we'll be fine."
As a measure of how difficult the curse-breaking business could be, Schilling lost a chance to improve to 4-1 even as he lowered his ERA to 3.19 by scattering seven hits and a walk. His only damaging mistake was a fastball Victor Martinez swatted for a two-run homer with two out in the first inning.
Schilling took it hard, as if it were his responsibility to overcome even the most crushing offensive deficiency.
"You've got to win games like this as a pitching staff," he said. "When your offense is trying to find it, if they're only going to score two, you've got to give up one, and if they're only going to score one, you've got to give up none. I didn't do my job."
