Game Preview: Toronto @ Sox GM3

Marcum (12-5, 3.75) vs. Schilling (8-6, 4.02)
Fenway Park 705

Ah, it's always enjoyable when things are all rainbows and lollipops in Soxland.

The new kids are more than alright, the injured vets are healing, and the club has used the strength of this four game winning streak to increase its AL East lead back to a somewhat secure seven games with 23 games left in the season.

Yep, it's a good time to be a Sox fan right now...

...as opposed to last week when it was pure misery.

Tonight Curt Schilling will try and keep the good times rolling as he takes the mound for his sixth start since returning from the DL. In those starts he is 2-2 with an ND, and while he is still struggling to find some consistency he has pitched well in three of those previous five starts.

In the three good starts (8/12 vs. BAL, 8/24 vs. CWS, 8/30 vs. NYY) he has allowed just 14 hits and 3 earned runs in 19 innings (1.42ERA), but in the two rough starts (both vs. LAA, 8/6 & 8/18) Schill gave up 17 hits and 9 earned runs in just 12 innings for a 6.75 ERA.

I guess they just shouldn't let him pitch against the Angles.

Hopefully he will pitch better than his career record (3-6, 5.68) against Toronto tonight, because opposing him will be the Jays hot young righty Shawn Marcum.

Marcum has won 8 of his last 10 starts and although he hasn't exactly been dominant, he has been steady enough to provide the Jays another quality starter to go along with hard luck Roy Halladay.

Last time out the Nation needed Schill to come up big against the Stanks to prevent an embarrassing sweep, and if it weren't for little Robbie Cano, he might have accomplished that mission.

Tonight we need him to come up big to keep the winning streak going, keep the momentum going, and prevent another bad loss from derailing all the good vibes floating around Fenway right now.

Is that too much to ask from a former ace?

NOTES: With his 0-4 last night Lowell snapped his 15-game hitting streak; no doubt he'll start a new one tonight, hopefully with a few ribbies thrown in as well...according to the Globe Dustin Pedroia will get the night off tonight and Alex remember me? Cora will get a rare second half start...the wunderkind that is Jacoby Ellsbury will be in the lineup again, batting 2nd and playing LF...speaking of wunderkinds, Clay Buchholz was named the AL Player of the Week; wonder what for?