"Joe Garagiola once said, "Baseball is a funny game."

John Smoltz didn't think so last night.

Through five innings, Smoltz scattered four hits around Rangers Ballpark, holding in check a strong Texas lineup by using his mind and off-speed pitches to confound hitters while making his fastball appear more effective than usual.

He was pitching like the guy the Sox hoped he'd be when they took a chance he could fully rehabilitate his cranky shoulder after offseason surgery and be ready for the second half, when pennants most often are won or lost. He was pitching like the John Smoltz you used to read about.

Then in the sixth, he made three good pitches, and the Rangers clobbered them. He made two bad pitches, and the Rangers really clobbered them. And in today's highlights and boxscore, it looks like they clobbered him. Which in the end they did, even though they didn't.

The way Smoltz looked at it, what's funny about that?

"You look in the paper and you think I pitched a bad game again," the right-hander said after a 6-3 loss dropped the Sox into a tie with the surging Yankees. "I try not to get frustrated over results, but it does frustrate me."

Last night was the third time in five starts since coming off the disabled list June 25 that Smoltz (1-3) gave up five or more runs, and each time the pattern was the same. One inning beat him.

Once it was in the first inning. Other times it was in the last. Occasionally it was somewhere in between. All of a sudden, often when he was an out away from the safety of the dugout, something went wrong.

"The two-out runs are getting on my nerves," Smoltz said. "I'm pleased with the way I'm throwing the ball, but the results have not been there.

"Certainly the two-out runs really, really frustrate me. My whole season has been like that. I'm going to have a hard time sleeping."

The sixth inning began with Michael Young hammering a home run to center on what Smoltz felt was a good pitch. Josh Hamilton followed with a double on a nice piece of hitting, but Smoltz rallied to get two strikeouts. The Rangers took a 3-2 lead, but Smoltz was an out way from keeping things under control."