Schilling rebounded from his first consecutive winless starts of the season to power the Sox to a 5-2 victory over the Devil Rays before 20,882 at Tropicana Field. Twirling his third complete game of the season, he helped the Sox win their first road series in nine tries since June 4-6 in Kansas City, an encouraging sign for the traveling GM.
The Sox have a chance tonight to complete their first three-game sweep on the road since April 23-25 in the Bronx.
"Let's be honest, this is a year in which a lot of things have gone wrong and we find ourselves in a bit of a dogfight for the postseason," Epstein said. "It's going to take more than .500 baseball the rest of the year to get it done, and I have all the confidence in the world that this team can go on a run and find our way to October."
The way they looked last night, why not? Schilling scattered six hits, including a solo homer by Rocco Baldelli, and a walk in going the distance as he improved to 13-5 with a 3.38 ERA.
"You want to be part of the cure instead of the problem," Schilling said. "Our starters have been pitching very, very well, and you want to keep that momentum going. The way all five of us have been throwing, we can put ourselves on a serious roll, but it's got to take consistency for us to do that. I want to be a part of that."
The offense delivered, despite David Ortiz serving the third game of his five-game suspension, as Bill Mueller emerged from a 2-for-23 slump to knock in three runs and Jason Varitek had a two-run homer.
The Sox were particularly grateful to Mueller, who singled in a run in the second inning and doubled home two more in the sixth. With Mark Bellhorn and Pokey Reese on the disabled list, Mueller has provided a boost by shifting from third base to second base just a month after returning from knee surgery.
