Starts of something good

''I knew once I threw my first couple of pitches that I had better stuff than I had in my last three starts," Arroyo said.

Sox starters have a 1.55 ERA over the last four games. The Sox are off today, then start a three-game weekend series against the Pittsburgh Pirates tomorrow with Wade Miller attempting to join Arroyo, Tim Wakefield, Matt Clement, and David Wells in the win column this week.

''Hope it continues," said Sox manager Terry Francona. ''That's how you start to play good baseball. That's what we talked about every night. When you get good starting pitching, when we're not playing catch-up, whatever offense we get looks good and we add on."

Arroyo and the Sox led, 1-0, through four innings before erupting for four runs in the fifth to break it open.

David Ortíz went 2 for 4 with three RBIs and a pair of doubles. Bill Mueller added a big two-run single to cap the fifth inning.

But even bigger was Arroyo, who has often been cast as the pitcher most likely to go to the bullpen if and when Curt Schilling returns to the starting rotation around the All-Star break. Arroyo was making a good case for demotion until last night, when he pitched reminiscent of his early-season starts.

''Starting pitching is doing the job," said Ortíz. ''When our pitchers throw like that, with our hitting, we can really get going."

Mueller's two-out single to right-center in the fifth on a 3-and-1 count gave the Sox a 5-0 lead in an inning that seemed to take the life out of the Reds. Mueller has had a tremendous revival, hitting safely in seven straight games.

''I'm just happy to be able to contribute right now," said Mueller, who is hitting .278 after going 1 for 4. ''I had to fight off some things all night and I finally got a good at-bat with a good swing."