Late Inning Magic Lifts The Red Sox--Schill Return News

As the old saying goes, better late than never, and that was very true last night at Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Red Sox were held scoreless through the first five innings, and then erupted for three runs in the sixth inning, thanks to a home run smashed by Kevin Youkilis. That made it 3-1, and with a four spot in the eighth inning, the final score was 7-1 good guys. Manny continued his hot hitting, going 2-4, as his club won for the seventh time in the past eight games. With the Yankees' split of a suspended game and a regularly scheduled one, the lead is back to a healthy 8 games. And with Curt Schilling coming back (see below) on August 5th or 6th, things look great with a little more than two months to go. Tim Wakefield, who loves pitching at the Trop, recorded his 12th victory, going six mostly strong innings and allowing one solo run while striking out 7. The clutch Manny Delcarmen, little Manny no more, handled the 7th and 8th innings with just 26 pitches, and Kyle Snyder pitched an uneventful 9th. Great pitching, from the 'pen and the rotation--a trademark of this 2007 season.

Tonight, at 7pm EDT, Jon Lester will go for his second straight victory. His mound opponent will be the righthander James Shields, who has an ERA of 9.37 in his last three starts. The Red Sox will try to continue their mastery of the Devil Rays, and let us all remember, with a smile, that we still have 14 (!!!) games left with the young Florida club.

SCHILLING NEWS........thanks to the Hartford Courant..........

"The life is back in Curt Schilling's pitches. New life has been breathed into the 40-year-old pitcher.
An upbeat Schilling rejoined his teammates at Tropicana Field Friday, a day after striking out eight in five innings of a rehabilitation start for Triple A Pawtucket in Toledo, Ohio.
Schilling will make one more rehab start Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio, then start for the Red Sox either Aug. 5 at Seattle or Aug. 6 at Anaheim.
Either way, he expects to be ready. He threw 66 pitches Thursday, 44 for strikes.
"I feel strong," said Schilling, on the disabled list since June 19 because of right shoulder tendinitis. "My split got better, and I thought it was really good my first time out [July 21]. Seven of the strikeouts last night came on the split, swings and misses in the middle counts, as well."

Peter here, and Curt, when you feel strong, we feel strong. August 5/6 cannot come soon enough. And what a rotation we will have! I have to believe that if Jon Lester has two good outings before Schill returns, it will be a toss up as to who stays (Gabbard or Lester) or who gets sent to Pawtucket. For the Boston Red Sox, it's a no lose situation. Just the kind we like!

Click on this post's title for the Boston Globe's Red Sox Notebook, with further news of Schill's return, Manny's continued hot streak, and more. Just for you. Have a wonderful weekend, and enjoy the hot Sox as they try to zap the Rays once again. Or as John Lennon said, long ago but still fresh in my mind, from THE WHITE ALBUM of 1968.... "So Captain Marble zapped him right between the eyes." Hey Devil Rays, it's ZAP TIME once again tonight, down at the Trop. To all my readers, enjoy the game and your weekend, and thank you for being here. I love ya all!!