Sox finish off Rangers

"A phenomenal homestand -- phenomenal," said pitcher Curt Schilling, who came within two outs -- and Michael Young's second home run of the afternoon -- from recording a complete game to go along with his league-best 18th win and third 10-strikeout performance of 2004.

"We played such good baseball in every aspect. I just feel we're such a good team right now we can win with pitching, hitting, defense, bullpen, whatever we need. That's what championship teams do -- they beat you in a multitude of ways."

In winning nine of 10 games while parked here -- four straight from the Tigers, a three-game sweep of an Angels team that had been on a similar roll before coming to town, and two of three from the Rangers, a team in last-stand mode, the Sox hit a sizzling .316 and registered an ERA of 3.40. That number would have been nearly a half-point lower if the Rangers hadn't hit Schilling and Keith Foulke with a four-spot in the ninth inning. Two runs came on Young's 18th home run of the season off Schilling, who came into the ninth with a three-hitter, and two more came off Foulke, who gave up three straight hits, including a two-run double by pinch hitter Dave Dellucci, before Kevin Mench lined softly to second base to end it.

"It got a little more interesting than we hoped for," Francona said. "The ninth inning got a little scary for us, but there were a lot of good things that happened up to that point. Gabe Kapler got a big hit to extend the lead, and that's something we talk about all the time, and it helped us win the game today."