Powered by Mike Lowell’s four hits, three hits including a huge homerun by Dustin Pedroia and some solid relief outings from the bullpen the Red Sox were able to salvage a win in the final game of the three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels, 9-6. The bullpen work provided by Mike Timlin, Hideki Okajima, Eric Gagne` and Jonathan Papelbon was huge because starter Jon Lester managed to only get through 3 1/3 innings. Julian Tavarez also pitched but he was a little shaky in his inning and a third.
The game went back and forth between the two teams for a while until the Sox decided to take over. In the seventh, Justin Speier relieved Darren Oliver for Angels and he was greeted by Pedroia’s third hit of the night a solo homerun to give the Sox a 7-6 lead. The Sox threatened for more with two out J.D. Drew singled and Lowell walked but Jason Varitek fouled out to end the inning. It was the fourth and final lead change of the night.
Facing reliever Scot Shields to lead off the eighth, Coco Crisp, who came on defensively in the 7th, struck out but reached first on a passed ball by Jeff Mathis. Brandon Moss singled to center, for his first major league hit, to move Crisp to second. With Julio Lugo up in a sacrifice situation the Angels tried to run a rotation play designed as a pick off and Shields threw the ball in centerfield allowing Crisp to go to third and Moss to second. Lugo then hit a sac fly to left to score Crisp and give the Sox an 8-6 lead. Pedroia grounded out to second and to move Moss to third, Kevin Youkilis was hit by a pitch on his left hand to put runners on the corners. It was the 11th time this year that Youk has been hit. Moss would score on a wild pitch by Shields to make it 9-6 as Youkilis also advanced to second with Manny Ramirez hitting. He would fly out to center to end the inning.
The game started ugly for the Sox, when Lugo got singled to start the game. But he ended up getting picked off of first when he did one of his famous start to steal and go back routines. This is at least the third time I’ve seen him picked off like this and it took any chance of anything happening in the top of the first and flushed it.
In stayed ugly in the bottom of the first as Reggie Willits singled off of Lester, he went to third on a single by Chone Figgins. Drew tried to throw out Willits but the ball skipped by Lowell and Figgins was able to advance to second on the Drew error. The Angels took a 1-0 lead when Orlando Cabrera grounded to Lowell to score Willits. Lowell looked Figgins back and threw out OC but Figgins broke for third and Youkilis gunned him down for a very unusual 5-3-5 double play. The Sox were able to escape the inning with the just the one run scoring.
The Halos added a pair of runs in the second inning off of Lester as Garrett Anderson and Gary Matthews, Jr. had back-to-back singles, Pedroia made a nice play on a line out by Mathis, but then Eric Aybar singled to left to score Anderson and it was 2-0. Willits, who sleeps in a batting cage, got an infield hit for his second hit of the night to load the bases and then Figgins followed with a sacrifice fly to center to score Matthews and it was 3-0 Halos. Lester was able to get out of the jam by getting Cabrera to pop out to end the inning.
The Sox got on the board in the top of the fourth, when they decided it was time for their own hit parade. Pedroia and Youkilis both had singles, Ramirez hit a double that scored both of them to cut the lead to 3-2, Drew then gapped a double to score Manny and tie the game at 3-3 with no one out. Lowell got the Beantowners 5th consecutive hit when he double to the left centerfield gap that brought Drew home to give the Sox a 4-3 lead. Lowell moved to third as Varitek grounded out to second, Wily Mo Pena popped out to second for the second out and Moss grounded out to Cabrera to end the inning.
Lester got himself into trouble again in the fourth when with one out he issued back-to-back walks to Aybar and Willits. They then pulled off a double steal and Figgins chased him from the game when he doubled to rightfield to score both runners and give the Angels a 5-4 lead. Terry Francona brought in Tavarez to try to put out the fire. Cabrera then lined into an unassisted double play to Pedroia that ended the inning.
The Sox pecked away in the fifth against Angels starter Dustin Moseley, Lugo and Pedroia led off the inning with back-to-back infield singles and then with Youkilis at the plate they proceeded to pull off their own double steal. Youkilis then hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Lugo and move Pedroia to third, Ramirez flew out, Drew walked and Lowell added his third hit of the night, a single to right field, that moved Drew to third and scored Pedroia to give the Sox a 6-5 lead. This would end Moseley’s evening, as Oliver a former Red Sox hurler would replace him. He would get Varitek to fly out to end the threat.
The Angels tied the game in the home half of the fifth when Vlad Guerrero just missed a homerun and ended up with a double to lead off. After Guerrero advanced to third on a ground out Anderson walked, Timlin relieved Tavarez and Matthews got the run home with a ground out to second to tie the game 6-6.
Gagne would come in and work the bottom of the 8th after getting a quick out he would give up a single and walk before striking out Figgins and getting Cabrera to pop out. Gagne is yet to work a clean inning as a member of the Sox bullpen.
Papelbon would shut the door in the ninth with a clean 1-2-3 inning and the Sox could board their charter to Baltimore and have a happy flight and off day on Thursday before battling the Birds over the weekend with a six-game lead over New York in the AL East.
Notes and Musings:
David Ortiz was out of the line up with a sore shoulder, Coco Crisp was given the night off as well. So your starting outfield looked like this: Wily Mo Pena started in LF, J.D. Drew was in CF and Brandon Moss was in RF. Crisp came in later Drew moved to right, Moss moved to left and Pena grabbed some pine.
Take a deep breath the Yankees got their ass kicked tonight in Canada. Rumor was that a bunch of muscular looking she males did them in. They beat Wang like a guy in a peep show booth tonight.
Thankfully the Angels didn’t wear their ugly red on red alternate jersey during this series.
The Angels were seeking their first three-game sweep of the Red Sox since April 6-8, 1998. The loss snapped Los Angeles’ six game hom winning streak.
The Red Sox lead the all-time series 305-262, The Sox are 135-149 in Anaheim or Los Angeles or wherever the hell the Angels say they play.
The Sox have lost 11 of the last 17 games against the AL West this season and are 16-15 overall against the division.
