A tale of two ballgames

How do you turn a pitchers' duel into a slugfest? Just add bullpens.

Curt Schilling went toe-to-toe with John Smoltz Sunday night, and the results were as one might expect: The starters gave up a combined five earned runs, with 6 walks and 12 strikeouts between them.

By the seventh-inning stretch, the starters were gone. Over the last 2 1/2 innings, the bullpens combined to give up a dozen earned runs.

Needless to say, neither starter was involved in the decision, which went to the Sox, 10-7.

For the fifth time this season, John Smoltz handed his bullpen a lead and ended up with nothing to show for it. Don't expect him to be too eager to veto a trade as the deadline nears and the Braves, who are now 14 games out in the NL East, fall further out of contention. Unfortunately, Detroit probably has the inside track for Smoltz's services: He's a Detroit native and the Tigers look to be playoff-bound, for a change.

The Sox have the back end of their bullpen locked up. It's the middle relief that's a problem, and last night's game was a prime example: Rudy Seanez gave up a 3-run shot to Jeff Francoeur and Mike Timlin was shaky, giving up three hits and two runs in the eighth before pinch-hitter Chipper Jones grounded into a fielder's choice for the second out of the inning, allowing Terry Francona to bring in Jonathan Papelbon to stop the bleeding.

The Sox's middle-relief problems are going to be exposed by the probelms with the starting rotation. David Wells and Matt Clement are both on the DL, but neither was terribly effective before being shelved. Josh Beckett is maddeningly inconsistent of late, and you never know if Tim Wakefield's knuckler is going to feel like dancing (although, fortunately, most of the time it does). The Sox need a starter who can go deep into games and get them to the back of the bullpen, and Smoltz looks like he would be a nice fit. Hopefully the front office was doing more in Atlanta than watching the games.

Tonight the spectacle of interleague play continues, with the Sox at home against the Nationals. And speaking of starting pitching probelms, the Sox send Kyle Snyder to the hill. Snyder was picked up off waivers from the Kansas City Royals.

Off waivers from the Kansas City Royals.

Interim pitching coach Al Nipper told the Providence Journal that Snyder has "had problems elevating balls in the zone. If he can keep the ball down in the zone, being the tall kid that he is, he can create a good downward plane."

Snyder appeared in one game this season for the Royals, a slugfest against the Texas Rangers that the Royals won 16-12. Snyder pitched two innings, giving up 10 hits and 5 earned runs, for an ERA of 22.50. He also notched two strikeouts.

Snyder will be opposed by Tony Armas Jr. (6-3, 4.18).