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Charlie Zink says he had no idea what he was doing when he nearly pitched a no-hitter at Hadlock Field in Portland five years ago.

TWO KNUCKLERS

Tim Wakefield

• Age: 41
• First six years (1989-94): 44-47, 4.41 ERA (minors); 14-12, 4.17 (majors)

Charlie Zink

• Age: 28
• First six years (2003-08): 47-41, 4.26 ERA (minors)

PAWTUCKET, R.I. — Charlie Zink started his first game of the 2008 Pawtucket Red Sox season on April 5 and, soon, watched the base runners multiply.

His line: three innings, four hits, four walks, one hit batter, and five earned runs.

Just another rough outing for Zink and his inconsistent knuckleball. Zink, who will turn 29 in August, seemed destined to be an experiment that the Boston Red Sox would finally give up on.

But this is a new version of Zink and, after that first start, you could even say new AND improved. Zink heads into his start today with a 4-2 record and 2.91 ERA.

Toss out his first and last starts, and his ERA is 1.31 over six games.

But, of course, we must mention that last start. Zink allowed four runs and eight hits over six innings.

But all four runs came in the third inning, and Zink walked none.

"That might have been one of his better outings," said Pawtucket Manager Ron Johnson, who first saw Zink and his knuckleball when both were in Portland in 2003.

"Don't judge it by the linescore. In the third inning, his knuckleball was flat and he was getting hit hard. But you didn't see immaturity. You didn't see the mound presence go bad.

"He gave up four but minimized the damage. He mixed in a fastball and change-up. The next thing you know, we take the lead and they don't score again off him.

"That's really impressive. That's what you're trying to develop in guys in the minor leagues."

Zink smiled at the compliment.

"I wasn't throwing (the knuckleball) well and I had the wind with me, which flattens it out even more," Zink said. "I had to be able to pitch to get outs, and I was able to do it."

Able to pitch? Shouldn't a professional pitcher already know how to pitch?

Not when you're Charlie Zink, who went from a fringe minor league pitcher with a decent fastball in 2002 to a knuckleball sensation in 2003. Zink came one out away from a no-hitter at Hadlock Field that season.

Still, that seems like more than five years ago.

"I had no idea what I was doing," Zink said. "I just threw it up there. If I got people out, I got people out. I didn't know how to fix anything."

A major fix came after that first start on April 5. New Pawtucket pitching coach Rich Sauveur, a former major league reliever who threw a knuckleball, asked Zink if he could throw a change-up.

"Yeah. I have a good one," Zink told him. "But I stopped throwing it."

The conventional wisdom was that a change-up did not work for a knuckleball pitcher because it was at the same speed, and straighter than the knuckler.

But Sauveur noticed that batters would tee off on Zink's fastball when his knuckleball was not working. A change-up would keep them honest.

"The very first (change-up) he threw, on a 3-1 count, he got a rollover groundball to third base," Sauveur said. "He looked in the dugout and smiled."

After walking four in three innings, Zink has allowed only eight more walks in his next 40 innings.

Zink has spent parts of five seasons with the Sea Dogs. He should stick in Triple-A this year, with a slim chance for a promotion to Boston.

Either way, the Red Sox will have to make a decision about Zink after this year. He is eligible to become a minor league free agent, unless Boston puts him on the 40-man roster.

The timing seems right for Boston to make a commitment to Zink. Judging by the career of the Red Sox better-known knuckleball pitcher, Tim Wakefield, Zink may be just entering his prime.

"In the past, (Zink's) knuckleball was as good as Wakefield's," said catcher Dusty Brown. "It was a matter of being as consistent with it. He's doing that this year."

Wakefield went from minor league infielder to a knuckleball pitcher in 1989. He enjoyed a flash of brilliance with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1992 (8-1, 2.15 ERA), then struggled in 1993 (6-11, 5.61) and...