Schilling pitches another scoreless inning

SYRACUSE, N.Y -- Pawtucket Red Sox manager Ron Johnson has never claimed to be proficient at reading minds. But apparently, he can read faces.

Johnson was at his "face-reading" best Sunday when rehabbing Curt Schilling walked off the mound following a scoreless eighth inning during Pawtucket's 4-0 victory over the Syracuse SkyChiefs.

"He was really confident (Saturday night) and today you could tell when he came in the dugout he was like, 'Hey, you need another one?' You could just see it in his face," Johnson said. "If I had said yes, he would have walked back out there. But I've grown accustomed to eating, and I'm going to make my living by doing exactly what I'm told by the people I work for."

While Johnson joked about what might have happened if he had not followed orders, there was no joking about Schilling's performance -- his second relief outing in less than 24 hours. And there certainly was no joking about why Johnson brought him in for the eighth as opposed to the ninth.

"The only reason he pitched the eighth and not the ninth was because we didn't want to take any possible chance that we wouldn't have a lead in the ninth inning on the road, and he came here to pitch," Johnson explained. "When the game remained 2-0, we wanted him to go an inning. If you send somebody else out there and all of a sudden you get a walk and a home run or a walk, an error, a home run, now we're behind.

"You can't take a chance with that type of situation. We talked with Curt before, and he was up for that."

Schilling got up to 93 mph on the Alliance Bank Stadium radar gun. He hit that number twice against lefty-swinging Kevin Barker (.350, 12 HR, 46 RBI) when he painted the outside corner for fastballs, the second for a called third strike.

Prior to Barker's at-bat, Schilling was tagged for a line single to right by leadoff batter Anton French on a split-finger fastball, then retired Bryant Nelson on a popout to third on another split. He recorded the final out on a fly ball to left by John-Ford Griffin on yet another split.

Schilling threw 11 of 16 pitches for strikes, a mix that included exclusively fastballs and splitters. But he spent more time on the mound than he did discussing his performance.

"I want to be in the big leagues pitching. ... I'm anxious to get back," Schilling said before boarding a private van for a ride to Hancock International Airport and a flight to Boston. "I felt good today. I felt stronger than I was (Saturday), which is good.

"I'm ready to go back there Thursday. I hope so ... that's the hope. Maybe we'll be winning (against the Yankees) by a large enough score so I don't have to pitch. (Physically), I felt fine. There was no problem."

PawSox catcher Kelly Shoppach felt Schilling may have seen the last of the International League.

"He seemed to be in good enough shape," Shoppach said. "He came back today with no problems after (Saturday), which is something he hasn't done. He said he felt fine and he looked fine. It's tough to come back (twice in 24 hours), especially for a starter, and he's been a starter forever.

"He threw the ball well (Saturday) and today, and he didn't go against easy hitters. These were pretty good hitters that he faced, and he pretty much ran through them easy."

Shoppach, like Johnson, was able to see that Schilling brought his "game face" to the park.

"His face coming to the mound was a positive to me," Shoppach said. "He looked excited. Usually with a starter's mentality, you have five days to prep for it. All the jitters are gone. Obviously, he knew he was going to pitch today. But coming out of the bullpen, normally it's a tight game and you get a little adrenaline rush."

Schilling's three relief outings with Pawtucket encompassed three innings and included three hits, two runs -- one earned -- with no walks and four strikeouts. The next step is for Schilling and the Red Sox to discuss his future.

"You're not talking about a Minor League pitcher who's trying to assume a different role," Johnson said. "You're talking about Curt Schilling. We know what he's done and what he can do. He will let you know what he's ready to do. I wouldn't bet against the guy. He's pitched more big games than you can think of."

Ironically, given this transition, Schilling's next game with Boston could be his biggest.