ANAHEIM, Calif. – The crucial at-bat in the clinching game of this AL Division Series between the Red Sox and the Angels was not the most dramatic. It came with two outs, runners on first and third, and Vladimir Guerrero — the Angels’ most dangerous hitter — coming to the plate.
Curtis Montague Schilling, who’ll be 41 next month, threw Guerrero a ball. Then another. Now, having fallen behind in the count, he threw two more. “I’m not sure I ever remember doing that,” he’d say later, referring to what he called an unintentional intentional walk. “But I just didn’t feel comfortable with that matchup.”
He also knew that Garret Anderson had left the game with a case of pink eye, leaving the considerably less fearsome Reggie Willits on deck. Willits promptly popped out to end the inning and preserve Schilling’s shutout.
As it happened, Schilling would leave the game after seven innings, having allowed six hits, and that one walk, but not a run. Schilling, who is given to pondering his future as a United States senator, isn’t always easy to like. Still, it’s impossible to ignore what he has accomplished. With Sunday’s win, his postseason record now stands at 9-2 — the highest winning percentage in playoff history — with a 1.93 ERA.
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