VERO BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Odalis Perez wanted to be nearly perfect against Curt Schilling and the Boston Red Sox.

Perez met the challenge by pitching five scoreless innings Monday as the Dodgers topped the Red Sox 3-2 before 7,863, the largest Holman Stadium crowd in 12 years.

“When you’re pitching against a guy like Schilling, if you give up more than one run, you have the expectation of losing the game,” said Perez, who allowed three hits while walking none and striking out five.

Perez has given up one run in 15 innings this spring.

Schilling was nearly as effective, allowing one run and four hits in 5 2-3 innings while striking out four and walking one.

The Dodgers got their run off Schilling in the second when Jolbert Cabrera beat out a bunt, took third on a single by Luis Garcia and scored on Jose Hernandez’s infield out.

Schilling, acquired from Arizona during the offseason, said he benefited from his familiarity with the Dodgers.

“There were about six or seven guys in their lineup I knew really well,” Schilling said. “So we had a chance to go over what we should do before the game, then we could go out and execute it.”

Bubba Trammell and Koyie Hill added RBI singles in the seventh off Frank Castillo for a 3-0 lead. Mark Bellhorn and Michael Hernandez hit RBI singles against Rick White in the ninth.

NL Young Award winner Eric Gagne pitched a scoreless sixth with two strikeouts. Gagne allowed his first hit in seven innings this spring.

when Boston’s Johnny Damon hit a leadoff single.

The Red Sox, making their first visit to Vero Beach since 1992, attracted a crowd that was mostly rooting for the visiting team. It was Holman Stadium’s largest attendance since 8,418 watched the Dodgers play the New York Mets in 1992.

“Guys still aren’t tuned completely,” Dodgers catcher Paul Lo Duca said. “But with the full crowd here and the people enjoying the game here, it was more like a regular-season game.”