David Ortiz, who may not be able to avert the detour of a suspension, hit a sixth-inning three-run home run, his second homer in two games since his Friday night meltdown, which enabled the Sox to overcome an early 1-0 deficit created by Bengie Molina's third-inning home run. Gabe Kapler, Ramirez's stand-in in left field, hit a home run to lead off a three-run seventh that also featured Johnny Damon's double, Ortiz's RBI single, and a run-scoring triple by Nomar Garciaparra.
"I think we are at a bit of a crossroads," Epstein said in an e-mailed response to a question. "We have not played well on the road and we are in a tough part of the schedule. If we are going to raise our level of play, certain guys have to step up, much as they did in the last six weeks of the season last year.
"Often, in the face of adversity, the guys who come forward are the ones who want to win the most. Perhaps today was a good start."
By invoking the end of last season, Epstein appeared to be drawing a comparison to Ramirez's controversial absence from a late-August Yankees series and his subsequent refusal to pinch hit on Labor Day in Philadelphia. That was the day Trot Nixon hit a game-winning grand slam that the Sox pointed to as the defining moment of their season. Teammates challenged Ramirez to be on the same page as the rest of the club, and both slugger and ballclub had big Septembers as the Sox won the wild card.
Pitching for the first time in weeks without the injection of a painkiller, Schilling improved his record to 12-4 after winning his fifth straight decision. Ten times Schilling has taken the mound after a Sox loss. Eight times in those games, the Sox have won, with Schilling getting credit for the victory in seven of them.
"We're not playing well, we're playing inconsistent," Schilling said after the Sox were able to stay even with Oakland in the wild-card race while maintaining the same 1 1/2-game lead in the wild-card standings with which they arrived. "We're going to have to step it up.
