ATLANTA (AP) -After getting roughed up in two straight starts, Red Sox starter Curt Schilling was sent back to Boston on Tuesday to get an MRI exam on his right shoulder.
Schilling nearly pitched a no-hitter at Oakland on June 7, giving up a two-out single to Shannon Stewart in the ninth inning.
But the 40-year-old right-hander hasn’t looked the same in his last two outings, surrendering 11 earned runs and 19 hits in 9 1-3 innings. He was hit hard Monday night by the Atlanta Braves, who said Schilling lacked his usual velocity in a 9-4 loss.
Taking no chances, the first-place Red Sox sent Schilling (6-4) back to Boston to get checked out by the team’s medical director, Dr. Thomas J. Gill.
“The ball didn’t come out of his hand too well,” manager Terry Francona said. “He didn’t complain of pain or anything. The ball just wasn’t coming out.”
Schilling, 14th on the career strikeout list with 3,086, failed to fan anyone Monday night – the first time that’s happened in one of his starts since 1993.
“It’s embarrassing,” Schilling said. “I never gave us a chance. You want to walk around the room and apologize to everybody. Your manager, your teammates, fans. There’s no excuse for a game like that.”
The Braves got 10 hits off Schilling in 4 1-3 innings, his second-shortest start this season. He was lifted after Brian McCann hit a three-run homer.
“He was just having trouble getting loose,” Francona said before Tuesday night’s game at Turner Field. “With all the humidity last night, you would have thought it would be easy to get loose.”
Schilling has endured a string of injuries during his 17-year career, including shoulder problems that required surgery after the 1999 season.
The Red Sox, trying to preserve an eight-game AL East lead over the surging New York Yankees, can hardly afford to lose a key member of their solid rotation, which also includes Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield.
“When the ball comes out like it did, you have to check,” Francona said. “I was kind of squirming the whole game. Because he knows how to pitch, it was an uncomfortable feeling for me.”
Schilling had trouble reaching 90 mph with his fastball.
“He wasn’t throwing 92, 93 like he normally does,” said McCann, who also touched Schilling for a run-scoring double. “He was throwing a lot more splits and curves and cutters than the scouting report says.”
Francona was troubled by the way Schilling acted in the dugout.
“They don’t always have to tell you,” the manager said. “His body language between innings was a little different than normal.”
The Red Sox haven’t decided whether Schilling will make his next scheduled start.
“He’s not a position player,” Francona said. “He doesn’t have to play today, so it makes sense to send him back to Boston, let him get looked at.”
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AP freelance writer Amy Jinkner-Lloyd contributed to this report.
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