All for naught

Mere inches separated his glove and the ball. But he couldn't grab it, and that led to the only extra-base hit of the game for the Devil Rays, a double that would lead to a 1-0 loss for the Red Sox, who were unable to dent Scott Kazmir.

So, as 36,907 learned that Ellsbury can do just about everything short of magic, their eyes must have lit up at another performance being played out in front of them. Even though the player in question - yes, you, Curt Schilling - wanted no part of that praise.

"No. Not now in September. It's about winning and losing games and I got outpitched," Schilling said. "I hate getting outpitched.

"I compete for a living. That's what I get paid to do. When you get outpitched, it's disappointing, it's frustrating. And, again, it's September.

"When people start talking about magic numbers, that means the season's coming to a close. I want to continue to get better and win games and I didn't do that today."

Yet, just as the Red Sox love watching Josh Beckett's dominance as the season wanes, they must also be buoyed by Schilling's seven-start renaissance over the past five weeks. From a disabled list stint to a shortened leash, six innings or so a pop, Schilling has become consistent enough, steady enough, to inspire confidence as the season winds down.

Though the magic number didn't change, thanks to Kazmir, Schilling allowed just one run, on that double by Norton, plus a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly. And as the offense slumbered, the bullpen produced, and Coco Crisp made another scintillating highlight play (doubling up Delmon Young from the center-field wall in the ninth), Schilling's stingy performance shined as he lowered his ERA over his past seven outings since returning from the disabled list to 3.35.

"He pitched extremely well," said Jason Varitek. "We just did not swing the bats. He found his split today and that was very encouraging. Now he's been able to work on his other pitches, he threw some good changeups, located his fastball well. That was the key.

"He was even better tonight than he was in his last two. He's taking steps."