It certainly can't be the weather. It was a frosty 47 degrees at game time last night, and the usual sellout anticipated a classic pitchers' duel featuring Hudson and Curt Schilling. Boston's prime-time pitchman held up his end, but Hudson was routed for nine hits and five runs in only four innings.
The Sox pounded out a season-high 19 hits (12 runs were also a season high), including a homer off Pesky's Pole by Mark Bellhorn, who scored four runs and drove home five. You know things are going well when your guys are clanging 302-foot shots off the yellow tower in right. Meanwhile, the Dominican Duo of Ramirez and Ortiz continued to bash just about every pitch that crossed the strike zone. Manny hit another double and another homer. Ortiz pounded two doubles and two singles and now leads the American League in two-baggers, extra-base hits, and RBIs. How long before the first loaves of Big David Bread hit the shelves at Shaw's?
"Obviously, we're pleased," said manager Terry Francona. "Going into a game like that, you don't expect to do that."
"We'll take it," added Johnny Damon [three hits, two runs]. "We never want to see [Hudson] on his game."
Schilling was Schilling. Talk about a guy who comes as advertised. Staked to a 9-0 lead after five, he hung around for two more innings, giving up a pair of runs before striking out Eric Chavez with the bases loaded to end the seventh. Curt-From-Medfield-You're-Next is 6-3 with a 2.82 ERA and leads the American League with 66 strikeouts.
"I felt as good as I've felt in six or eight weeks," said Schilling, who took a shot in his right ankle to numb some pain before the game. "The medicine wore off after the fifth inning and I struggled mentally."
The wealth of offense came on a night when, once again, the medical news for the Sox was not good. American League batting champion Bill Mueller is the latest to fall. He's due for surgery on his right knee and will be out for approximately six weeks.
