By Jesse Sanchez / MLB.com

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The not-so-good news is that if the starting pitching does not improve, it's going to be a short series and a long winter for the Red Sox.

Curt Schilling was charged with six runs and six hits in three innings. Tuesday's starter Pedro Martinez is going to have to do a lot better than that to keep his club within striking distance.

However, the Red Sox faithful can take solace in the fact their team never gave up, and give or take a hit, Boston could have come back from the 8-0 deficit for the win. Case in point, David Ortiz came within 90 feet from tying the game after a two-run double that cut the Yankees' lead to 8-7 in the seventh.

Trouble is, he didn't advance home from third for another run and the Yankees did -- twice.

Vitals check
A look at key statistics through Game 1 of the ALCS.

Team stats

Digits		Trend	The Deal
ERA	11.25		without pitching, it'll be a slugfest vs. sluggers
BA	.278		good, but not good enough
Runs	7		seven runs should be enough to win any game
Fldg %	1.000		defense could be key in the series

Who's hot?

Player	Digits	Trend	The Deal
David Ortiz	.500 BA, 0 HR, 2 RBI		Big Papi is always a threat at the plate
Jason Varitek	.500, 1 HR, 2 RBI		heart and soul of the club leads with his actions

Who's not?

Player	Digits	Trend	The Deal
Johnny Damon	.000, 0 HR, 0 RBI		needs to get on base to get the offense going

Behind the numbers
Schilling's three-inning outing was the shortest postseason outing of his career. In 12 previous starts, he failed to last fewer than seven innings only twice. The six runs allowed were his second-most allowed in a postseason game.

Frozen moment
Trailing 2-0 in the third with two runners on base, Schilling walked Gary Sheffield on a 3-2 pitch during a seven-pitch at-bat to load the bases. In need of a strike, Schilling grooved the next pitch to Hideki Matsui and Matsui made him pay for it with a bases-clearing double for a 5-0 lead. Schilling would give up another run and finish the inning, but it would be his last.

Slick move
Schilling did not have it Tuesday night and Red Sox manager Terry Francona made the right move by pulling him after three innings and six runs. The big right-hander threw 58 pitches -- likely too many to bring him back on short rest -- but never count the big fella out in any situation. If he can walk, he can pitch. His sore right ankle will determine the former.

Too little, too late?
Jason Varitek's seventh-inning, two-run home run was his first hit at Yankee Stadium this season. He came into Tuesday's game 0-for-34 and extended the slump to 0-for-36 before the homer. He finished 2-for-4 and has four home runs in LCS games, a Red Sox record.

ALCS comebacks
In three of the last four ALCS, the team losing Game 1 has gone on to win the series -- New York in 2000, Anaheim in 2002 and New York again in 2003. In 34 previous ALCS matchups, the team winning Game 1 has gone on to win the series 21 times.

Last word
"Even when we were down 6-0, 8-0, they just kept saying, 'We will peck away,' and we did. We really were not down at any time. We thought we could come back."
-- Francona

Jesse Sanchez is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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