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Schilling sparks Red Sox past Orioles

Apr 26, 2007 - 3:47 AM BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- The ace of Boston Red Sox stepped up as the Baltimore Orioles' bullpen faltered.

Curt Schilling allowed one run in seven strong innings to lead the Red Sox to a 6-1 win over the Orioles Wednesday at Camden Yards.

Schilling (3-1) scattered five hits and two walks while striking out five. He threw 90 pitches, including 59 for strikes.

"I haven't pitched like or feel like I have pitched this hard since 1992," Schilling said. "I am not that 96 (miles per hour) guy anymore but I can be effective and I can get outs and I can go deep in games and I can finish games just as easily with the stuff I am running out there with now."

Boston's bats came alive in the seventh inning after Baltimore removed starter Daniel Cabrera, breaking a 1-1 tie with three runs in the seventh and a pair in the ninth.

David Ortiz opened the floodgates by capping an 11-pitch at-bat with an RBI single off lefthander Jamie Walker.

"David's at-bat was tremendous," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "The deeper he got into (the) count the more dangerous he got."

"He (Walker) pretty much threw everything," Ortiz said. "I just tried to stay right on and I got a bloop in there. He made a lot of good pitches."

The Baltimore brass spent a lot of money in the offseason to revamp a bullpen that was the main weakness of the club last season. Walker was acquired in a trade from Detroit while Chad Bradford, a side-winding righthander, was signed to a three-year, $10.5 million contract in the offseason.

Bradford relieved Walker and immediately allowed an RBI single to Manny Ramirez before walking J.D. Drew to load the bases and walking Mike Lowell to force in the third run of the inning.

Cabrera (1-2) was charged with three runs and and five hits. He struck out five and walked five while allowing just a solo blast to Alex Cora prior to the seventh inning.

"I thought he pitched great," Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo said. "He got into a little trouble in the last inning with some walks but overall he pitched great."

Schilling (3-1) entered the contest still searching for some consistency.

The 40-year-old righthander was rocked in a season-opening 7-1 loss at Kansas City, lasting just four innings - his shortest outing in a decade.

He bounced back to win his next two starts, allowing one run and eight hits, before surrendering two homers to Alex Rodriguez and receiving a no-decision in his last start against the New York Yankees.

Miguel Tejada's solo homer in the sixth frame accounted for the Orioles' lone run.

"I hung (the breaking ball)," Schilling said. "I wasn't just try to throw a strike, I just didn't execute the pitch mentally."

Cabrera hasn't had much luck in his career against the Red Sox, owning a 1-6 record and a 9.27 ERA. Lack of control has been a major problem, as he has yielded 32 walks in 33 career innings against Boston.

The 25-year-old Dominican righthander has appeared to rectify that problem thus far in 2007, entering Wednesday's game with 26 strikeouts and just seven walks in 26 innings.

"Daniel is slowly getting to that point," Schilling said of his counterpart.

Cora continued his tremendous success in his career against Cabrera, adding a single in the fifth to his homer in the third. The homer was the first of the season and just the third in three years for the utility infielder. He is now 11-for-18 against Cabrera.

"I don't know," Cora said on his success against Cabrera. "I tell you there are a lot of hits there but there are some of them that are ugly hits."

The Red Sox tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the ninth inning. Ramirez welcomed Orioles rookie Jim Johnson to the major leagues with a sacrifice fly and Lowell added an RBI single to cap the scoring.

The 23-year-old Johnson, who was making his first appearance of the season, allowed three hits and walked two while striking out a pair in his debut.

The win snaps a two-game losing streak for the Red Sox and extends the Orioles' skid to five games.