It was kids' stuff for Tavarez

ATLANTA -- You'd never know Turner Field was the last place he wanted to be.

He wears his heart on his sleeve anyway, but last night Julian Tavarez, who pitched his best game of 2007 -- seven innings, three hits in an 11-0 win over the Atlanta Braves -- said he missed his two children, who live in New York and Cleveland, respectively, and that's where he really wanted to be.

"I wasn't in the mood to be here today," he said. "There was nothing wrong, it's just how it is. I've been in the major leagues for 12 1/2 years, and if major leaguers tell you they want to be at the ballpark every day, they lie to you. Sometimes you come to the park because you have to. That's how I feel today. That's how I feel the last three or four days. There are more important things than baseball for us. For me, when it comes to my game, there's nothing more important than my game. I have kids and sometimes I just want to be with them. I don't want to be here. When they say play ball, I put everything behind. That's the person I am."

Tavarez was in need of a Roger Clemens family clause, or at least a temporary pass.

He certainly performed once he walked between the white lines. In a series where Curt Schilling was ineffective and is now headed to the disabled list with shoulder tendinitis, Josh Beckett and Tavarez came up big in back-to-back shutouts. Tavarez claimed he had no idea Schilling was on his way to the DL, but said he pitched his best because of a dynamite sinking fastball that produced 11 ground outs. He threw 97 pitches, again showing great animation on the mound.

While he was in a funk personally, he somehow checked those feelings at the door when he walked to the mound in the first with a 5-0 lead in his back pocket.

"You have to think it's 0-0," Tavarez said. "You can't let anybody hit a home run. You just have to go out there and face one guy after another and make my pitch and keep the ball down and not look at the scoreboard."

What he also concerned himself with was the bat he held in his hands three times. He was very careful not to do anything to injure himself because "I'm a free agent guy. I can't afford to get hurt. I've got to take care of my kids, myself, and my family. I've gotten a chance to be a starter, so I put some numbers up there, and hopefully, I can find a job next year."

For a while, he's been rumored not to be long for the No. 5 spot in the rotation. As soon as Jon Lester is ready, Tavarez would go back to the bullpen. But Tavarez is the No. 4 starter for now. His performance will allow Schilling to heal properly so he can be of use in the second half of the season and the postseason, where he's a proven winner.

"I don't know that Schilling got hurt," Tavarez said. "First I've heard about that. Schill works very hard. He's a veteran guy. He knows what he has to do to get back. They might go with a four-man rotation, but we have some good arms down there -- Kason Gabbard came up and pitched a good game, Devern Hansack can do it too, David Pauley is down there pitching good also. We'll be fine. We just have to hope that Schill gets well soon and helps us get back to the World Series."

Tavarez is now 5-4 with a 4.50 ERA. His numbers haven't always been pretty, but he's unbeaten in his last seven starts and has allowed three runs or fewer in nine of his 13 starts.

"Once you know you have a good sinking fastball, the first thing you do is go challenge the hitters," he said.

Bothered by a sore hamstring, Tavarez said he was fortunate not to have to run much while batting (0 for 3, 3 strikeouts) or in the field.

"I feel [the hamstring] a little bit," he said. "It's a good thing I'm not a position player. I'm glad I wasn't in a situation where I had to bunt. I was hoping there'd be two outs when I came up so I don't have to swing or run the bases. Just one time I had to run to first base for a double play. I think I can battle out there for the rest of the season."

Tavarez said he's been in a funk for three or four days.

"I have to think positive and pray to God," he said. "I believe in God. I talk to God every day to help me make decisions to help me in my game. That's the way I am -- once I cross the line, nothing gets in my way. I need help from God to give me some energy.

"I'm a guy who lives by myself. I've lived by myself my whole life. I don't see my kids a lot. A lot of times, I want to be with them. I'm sure there are a lot of guys who feel the way I do. We travel so much, we don't have a chance to be with our family. It's different for the married guys because they can travel with their family at any time, but for a single guy like me, it's very hard. I hope the season goes fast so I can be with them. I don't feel like that every day. Just sometimes, once in a while. I'm very strong, I have a strong mind, and I can get through this."

What Tavarez and Beckett have done the last two nights is buy the Sox time.

It's about having enough depth on your pitching staff and in Triple A to allow a 40-year-old pitcher to get strong. When Beckett went down with an avulsion on his right middle finger, the Sox went 10-4 and gained 5 1/2 games on the Yankees. If they should be so lucky as to do that again with Schilling out, it will prove their might once and for all.

Tavarez wasn't asking for sympathy regarding his situation, but he wasn't about to mask his feelings. You could see in his eyes that he was troubled. You could see that after the high of winning a big game and continuing to establish himself as a consistent pitcher who can be depended upon, he let his emotions out.

He looks forward to tomorrow, another day closer to being with his kids.

Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com.