ANAHEIM, Calif.- Curt Schilling pitched 6 2 /3 effective innings, Manny Ramirez and Kevin Millar homered during a seven-run fourth inning, and the Red Sox beat the Angels 9-3 yesterday in Game 1.

Pedro Martinez will pitch against Anaheim’s Bartolo Colon in Game 2 tonight before the best-of-five series moves to Boston. Two years ago, the Angels lost the openers to the Yankees, Twins, and Giants before bouncing back to win all three series en route to the championship.

Just like the 2002 postseason, most of the fans at Angel Stadium wore red and made it noisy by banging Thunder-Stix. The volume level decreased significantly after the Red Sox’s big fourth inning gave them an 8-0 lead, and not even stuffed Rally Monkeys could spur the Angels.

The seven runs were the most ever scored by the Red Sox in an inning in the postseason and the most ever allowed by the Angels. Five of the runs were unearned because of a throwing error by third baseman Chone Figgins.

An eight-run lead was more than enough for Schilling, who entered with a 5-1 record and a 1.66 ERA in 11 previous postseason appearances.

He wasn’t at his best, allowing nine hits and three runs, two earned, while walking two and striking out four. But that was good enough.

Schilling, who allowed at least one base runner in every inning, was relieved by Alan Embree with a runner at second, two outs in the seventh and the Red Sox leading 8-3. Embree retired pinch hitter Adam Riggs on a foul popup to end the inning.

Boston went ahead for good off Jarrod Washburn in the first on a two-out double by Ramirez and a broken-bat single by David Ortiz.

Ortiz walked to begin the fourth and Millar hit an 0-1 off-speed pitch into the left-field bullpen, making it 3-0. The Red Sox then loaded the bases with one out, and two runs scored when Figgins fielded Johnny Damon’s grounder but was far off target with his throw home as he went for the force.

Scot Shields relieved and struck out Mark Bellhorn, but Ramirez capped the inning with a three-run homer over the left-center field fence.

Troy Glaus, MVP of the 2002 World Series, hit Schilling’s second pitch in the bottom half for a long home run.

Darin Erstad added a solo homer in the seventh, and the Angels got another run on Schilling’s throwing error and an RBI double by Glaus. Schilling grabbed at his right ankle after watching his throw to first bounce down the right-field line, and stayed in for one more batter.

The Red Sox got a run back in the eighth on Doug Mientkiewicz’s two-out bunt single off Ramon Ortiz.