Boston ? The infield at Fenway Park was covered with a dirty white tarp on a dreary day. Unless the Boston Red Sox start winning soon, the gloom will last all winter.

The Red Sox returned home Thursday after losing the first two games of the AL championship series to the Yankees in New York. As its workout began, Boston announced ace Curt Schilling’s ailing ankle would prevent him from pitching Game 5 and perhaps the rest of the postseason.

Then rain began to fall, wiping out much of New York’s practice. The forecast is for a downpour tonight, which could cause a postponement of Game 3 and lead both teams to reshuffle their rotations.

“I obviously feel a lot of pressure,” said Bronson Arroyo, Boston’s Game 3 starter. “We’re backed into a corner.”

While the Red Sox are used to Fenway’s nooks and crannies, their deficit is a daunting ditch to escape, especially after New York beat Schilling and Pedro Martinez. Of 61 teams that have fallen behind 0-2 in best-of-seven postseason baseball series, only 12 have rallied to win, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The numbers are even more dismal in the league championship series: 2-for-15.

“In a series like this you can expect the unexpected,” New York’s Alex Rodriguez said. “Just because you beat Pedro and Schilling, you’ve got to be very aware of Bronson Arroyo laying in the weeds. It’s useless to win two at home and then come here and not play well.”

Kevin Brown, the pitcher who hit the wall last month — no, not that Wall — starts Game 3 for the Yankees. New York manager Joe Torre decided Thursday that Orlando Hernandez, apparently recovered from a tired shoulder, would start Game 4 against knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.

With Schilling sidelined, Boston selected Derek Lowe to pitch Game 5 against Mike Mussina.

But rain could change that.

New York pitcher Orlando Hernandez runs along the left-field wall at Fenway Park. The Yankees' workout was cut short by rain Thursday in Boston. The team announced Hernandez would start Game 4 of the AL championship series.

“Weather could dictate some changes,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona, who could bring Martinez back for Game 5 if there’s a rainout. If there’s a game Monday — it would start at 4:10 p.m. — Martinez would avoid making another start in front of the taunting fans at Yankee Stadium, who’d love to chant “Who’s Your Daddy?” one more night.

The Red Sox, a self-described band of “idiots,” were loosey goosey at the ballpark. There was loud salsa music in the cramped clubhouse and a sunny spirit that contrasted the weather and the 0-2 deficit.

“The great news is that it’s not a best-of-three series,” Francona said.

Boston, seeking to break the Curse and win its first World Series title since 1918, has some comeback history this year to fall back on: The Red Sox trailed the first-place Yankees by 101/2 games on Aug. 16, then closed within two games in September before finishing second to New York in the AL East for the seventh straight season.

“This team never makes it easy on ourselves,” Boston’s Kevin Millar said. “This team’s not going to quit. It’s not going to quit until the last at-bat.”