Delay ruined timing

Curt Schilling looked all-world in his last start, striking out 10 Cleveland Indians last Monday and allowing just one run on six hits in seven innings on the way to his fifth victory of the season.

Yesterday, Schilling had two opponents -- the New York Yankees and Mother Nature. He was doing pretty well against the former, but the latter was far more of a hindrance than a help. In the end, though, it didn't matter that Schilling wasn't on top of his game. His teammates bailed him out as Boston beat New York, 11-6, at Fenway Park.

While Schilling got a no-decision, the Sox' fourth pitcher -- Hideki Okajima -- was credited with his first major league win. Schilling lasted just five innings, his shortest outing since Opening Day, when he went four against the Royals in Kansas City April 2. Yesterday, he gave up nine hits and four runs (all earned) with two strikeouts and one walk. The start of his downfall was a half-hour rain delay in the bottom of the fourth inning, followed by the Red Sox resuming their at-bat with no outs.

That meant Schilling had to wait nearly an hour before he could return to the mound.

"I felt a little different coming out of it," he said. "I didn't loosen up like I expected to. But I still felt like I had good enough stuff."

In the fifth inning , Schilling allowed just one hit, and escaped trouble by getting a double play, but the sixth was another story. After a single and a walk, he threw a split-fingered fastball to catcher Jorge Posada, who drilled the 2-and-2 pitch into the right-field seats to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead. Sox manager Terry Francona had seen enough and summoned Javier Lopez.

"It didn't split," said Schilling of his final pitch. "I threw the one before that and it stayed up in the zone, he took it for a strike. Generally, when I hang one like that, I can bury the next one because I know how to make the adjustment, and I didn't. I left it up."

Overall, Francona said he didn't believe Schilling had the same command as he did on Monday, and the veteran righthander agreed.

"I wasn't nearly as sharp with it as I was the other day," Schilling said of his splitter . "I threw some good ones that they laid off of. It just wasn't as good as it was in my last start.

"I just wasn't consistent today. I'm working to make adjustments I have to make, make changes I have to make. Unfortunately, when you go out like I did the other day and it all kind of works immediately, you just expect it to be there, and it's not. It's an ongoing process.

"Fortunately, we're not losing games while I'm trying to make some of these transitions."

Nancy Marrapese-Burrell can be reached at Marrapese@globe.com.