Cardinals unable to solve Schilling

The first at-bat of the game seemed to go on and on, with Red Sox starting pitcher Curt Schilling aiming to end the inning with little damage, and St. Louis leadoff batter Edgar Renteria aiming to throw a wrench in his game plan. Twelve pitches later, after several fouls, Schilling got Renteria to ground out to shortstop.

A dozen pitches to the first batter of last night's World Series Game 2. That would seem to spell trouble for a pitcher who is trying to turn back one of the most potent lineups in Major League Baseball with a displaced tendon in his right ankle.

It took 13 more pitches for Schilling to get the other two outs of the inning, but he did it. Schilling left the game after six innings of work, having given up 4 hits, a walk, and one unearned run against a lineup that had tallied 8 hits and 5 runs in 6 innings off Houston 20-game winner Roy Oswalt in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, as well as 4 runs on 6 hits in 6 innings against Roger Clemens in Game 7 of the NLCS.

"It was just good pitching, that's what you do, you eliminate the big inning," said Cardinals catcher Mike Matheny (1 for 4 with a strikeout). "We had them on in a couple of spots, and we couldn't capitalize. We couldn't get the timely hits. That's why he's done what he's done. He made pitches when he had to."

Schilling became one of only three starting pitchers the Cardinals failed to score an earned run on in the postseason, the other two were Los Angeles starter Jose Lima in Game 3 of the Division Series and Brandon Backe in Game 5 of the NLCS. Neither of those pitchers had to withstand four errors from their defense, as Schilling did last night.

"I think playing against him and hearing about him, he watches a lot of videotape and he knows what he wants to do," said St. Louis center fielder Jim Edmonds (0 for 4). "I think the biggest thing from my watching from the outfield all these years is that a lot of pitchers that are successful know what they want to do and execute it.

"Obviously, [Schilling has] been doing it for a long time, so you see when guys are younger and they don't go up there with a game plan, something else throws them off. That's why he's been around for so long and has been so successful. He does what he wants and executes it."

Did he ever last night. After Renteria's at-bat in the first, Schilling gave up an Albert Pujols double off the Wall with two out, but Scott Rolen lined to third to end the inning.

The Cardinals put two on in the second with one out as Reggie Sanders reached with a walk and Tony Womack singled, but Sanders ran past second, then abruptly turned and went back. He said later he had not touched the base.

That was a huge opportunity lost, as Matheny lined into a double play to end the inning.

"It was a hit and run, and I looked in to see where the ball was going and I didn't realize the base was as close at it was," said Sanders, who added that Schilling was effective because he kept his pitches down. "I ended up not touching it. I felt it was better to go back instead of going to third and being called out. It was better to be safe than sorry."

Schilling retired the side in the third inning, using only nine pitches.

The Red Sox starter gave up his lone run (unearned) in the fourth, the only inning he allowed a leadoff hit. Pujols got his second double and tagged to third on a fly to right by Rolen. Sanders scored on an error by third baseman Bill Mueller, cutting the Red Sox lead to 2-1.

But the Cardinals could muster no more runs off Schilling.

"We've been able to capitalize on situations where guys would give us extra outs," Sanders said. "It's been very tough while we were [in Boston]."

Schilling needed eight pitches to finish off St. Louis in the fifth, and withstood errors by Mueller and Mark Bellhorn (the Red Sox' eighth error in two games) before getting Sanders to ground out with two out to end the sixth.

Despite their futility here, the Cardinals take solace in returning home, where they have not lost in the postseason.

"I see us as being down, 2-0, and that's it," said Matheny. "We just have to play good baseball when we get back home and take it one game at a time like we've done all year long. Nobody believes us, but that's the way we have to go about it."