BOSTON (AP) – Curt Schilling had his injured ankle wrapped in a bloody sock the previous time he pitched a postseason game at Fenway Park, and he was spectacular.

The last time Fausto Carmona stood on the same mound he was very shaky.

Don’t expect the same results tonight in Game 2 of the AL championship series between the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox.

Schilling doesn’t.

“It’s been a long time, I think, since I’ve gone into a game being an underdog,” he said Friday, “but given the year he had and the way he’s throwing, I can absolutely see why people think we’re going to have a hard time winning that game.”

That was the diplomatic thing to say, considering Schilling is one of the best postseason pitchers ever.

Carmona is building an impressive resume, too. The 23-year-old right-hander went 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA this season as Cleveland’s No. 1A starter to C.C. Sabathia’s No. 1.

Schilling missed about six weeks with tendinitis in his right shoulder and was 9-8 with a 3.87 ERA. One month shy of his 41st birthday, he’s continuing his transition from a power pitcher to one who relies on locating his other pitches.

“Everything has changed, stuff-wise,” he said before the series opener, “maybe not being as adamant about establishing my fastball as I am about establishing the change of speeds.”

New approach or not, he was a postseason star again when the Red Sox completed their three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels in the division series.

Schilling pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing six hits and one walk while striking out four in a 9-1 victory last Sunday.

“You have to execute almost perfectly in October to be consistently successful,” he said.

One of his most remarkable postseason performances came in the second game of the 2004 World Series. With his injured right ankle wrapped, he fought through six innings. He gave up one run as Boston beat St. Louis 6-2, reaching the midpoint of a sweep that ended its 86-year championship drought.

Schilling hasn’t pitched a postseason game at Fenway since.

Carmona hasn’t worked there since he blew his first two save opportunities in the majors last July 31 and Aug. 2. He finished the 2006 season 1-10 with a 5.42 ERA.

But he ended it back in the rotation, and this year he emerged as a Cy Young Award candidate. And now he has a playoff gem on his record.

In Game 2 of the Indians’ AL division series against the Yankees – the one in which the bugs bothered New York reliever Joba Chamberlain – Carmona allowed one run and three hits in nine innings. Cleveland won 2-1 in 11.