Curt Schilling strikes out eight while shutting down Tampa Bay.

BOSTON – Curt Schilling pitched his best game with the Red Sox, and Jason Varitek hit a two-run homer to lead Boston to its fourth straight victory with a 6-0 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Wednesday night.

Schilling (3-1) struck out eight, walked none and allowed five hits in 7 1-3 innings. He struck out the side in the seventh, ending the inning with a called third strike against Toby Hall on a 97 mph fastball.

On his 106th pitch, Schilling retired Rey Sanchez on a fly to center leading off the eighth. Alan Embree relieved and Schilling left to a standing ovation with a 5-0 lead.

Varitek drove in three of those runs with his homer in the fourth and a bases-loaded single in the three-run seventh. Bill Mueller added an RBI double in the eighth.

The Red Sox scored twice in the fourth on Varitek’s one-out homer off Paul Abbott (2-2) after Manny Ramirez’s double. Boston added three runs in the seventh starting with Varitek’s RBI single after Mueller singled, David Ortiz doubled and Ramirez was walked intentionally. Mark Bellhorn followed with a two-run single.

Schilling allowed singles to two of the first three batters, but gave up just three more hits after that.

After Carl Crawford led off the game by flying out to center, Rocco Baldelli and Aubrey Huff singled to put runners at first and second. But Schilling retired Robert Fick on a popup to third, then struck out Tino Martinez.

Schilling gave up a two-out single to Hall in the second, then retired six straight before Julio Lugo’s two-out double in the fourth. He ended that inning by striking out Jose Cruz Jr.

He then retired eight straight before Lugo singled with one out in the seventh.

Notes: Bellhorn leads the AL with 21 walks after two more Wednesday. … In their careers against Schilling, Martinez is 2-for-16 and Cruz is 2-for-28. … Ortiz extended his streak to eight games with an extra-base hit. … Schilling was hit on the right foot on Huff’s drive up the middle in the first. Manager Terry Francona and trainer Jim Rowe went to the mound, but Schilling showed no ill effects as he retired the next four batters.

AP-ES-04-28-04 2147EDT