Monday night’s game between the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim saw an offensive outburst by the Red Sox. On Tuesday and Wednesday nights, it was pitching and defense for the Red Sox. And on Thursday night, it was back to the offensive outbursts for the Red Sox.

Victor Martinez had two hits and four RBIs to help the Red Sox to an 11-6 win over the Angels in front of 37,639 at Fenway Park.

It’s the first four-game sweep of the Angels for the Red Sox since 1967 at Fenway Park as they improve to 15-14. It’s the seventh straight loss for the Angels who fall to 12-18.

The Red Sox were trailing 4-0 in the 3rd inning against Scott Kazmir and the Angels until a lead-off walk to Dustin Pedroia and a two-run homer by Victor Martinez. For VMart, it was his first home run since April 6th.

But the big blow to the Angels and Kazmir came in the 5th inning.

Marco Scutaro led off with a single and went to third on a Pedroia double. They both came home as VMart went the opposite way down the line for a 2-run double to tie it up at 4. Kazmir then sandwiched walks to Kevin Youkilis and J.D. Drew around a Mike Lowell line out to shortstop. The walk to Drew ended Kazmir’s evening on the bump.

Brian Stokes took over and struck out Adrian Beltre. Terry Francona pinch-hit for Bill Hall with Jeremy Hermida and Hermida rewarded Tito with a 2-run single to make it 6-4. Darnell McDonald followed with a double to score Drew to push the lead to 7-4.

The Angels would get it back to 7-6 on a 2-run homer by Mike Napoli but the Red Sox would add four in the 6th to provide the final margin of victory.

Daisuke Matsuzaka started this one for the Red Sox and picked up the win despite his awful first inning. The Angels watched the first fourteen pitches he threw before a Torii Hunter single made it 2-0. He would give up two more runs in the inning but settled down after that.

Matsuzaka worked 5 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts on 92 pitches. Manny Delcarmen worked an inning and allowed a run on a hit and a walk with a strikeout. Hideki Okajima was perfect in 2/3 of an inning and Ramon Ramirez gave up two hits and a walk with three strikeouts in two innings.

Hermida finished the game with the one hit and three RBIs while Dustin Pedroia had two hits. Adrian Beltre added two hits and an RBI while Drew had a hit and RBI on a bases loaded walk.

The Red Sox will now welcome the New York Yankees to the Fens for a 3-game weekend set. Phil Hughes and Josh Beckett will square off in game one tomorrow night at 7:10 p.m.

Los Angeles Angels @ Boston Red Sox 5.6.10 box score

LAA Angels @ Boston Red Sox 7:10 p.m. Fenway Park – Boston, MA SP: Scott Kazmir vs Daisuke Matsuzaka TV: NESN, MLB Network, MLB.tv Radio: Red Sox Radio Network

Afternoon Red Sox Delight – 5/6 [SOX & Dawgs]

After taking the first three games of a four-game set, the Boston Red Sox look for a sweep of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim tonight at Fenway Park.

First pitch for tonight’s game is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. and will be shown on NESN in the Red Sox television market. The game will be broadcast on FoxSports West in the Angels television market. And if you don’t live in either market, you’re in luck as the game will also be shown on the MLB Network. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2010 Red Sox radio network.

Daisuke Matsuzaka makes just his second start of 2010 for the Red Sox. In his previous start, he was solid for four innings but was roughed up in the fifth by the Baltimore Orioles to suffer the loss. He made one start against the Angels in 2010 and picked up the win after throwing six shutout innings. He’s made two career starts, both of them at Fenway Park, against them and is 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA.

Scott Kazmir had relatively good success as a member of the Rays against the Red Sox and the Angels hope that’ll continue. He’s made four starts this season and is 2-1 with a 5.57 ERA. He made two starts against the Red Sox in 2009 and was 2-0 with a 3.27 ERA. Kazmir has made 23 starts against the Red Sox in his career and has an 8-7 record with a 3.59 ERA. He’s made 13 starts at Fenway Park and is 6-4 with a 3.05 ERA.

Keep reading for lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and pregame links.

Here’s the hitters have fared against tonight’s starting pitchers in their careers:

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Red Sox fans celebrate Nomar Night [Extra Bases]

Ortiz lets his bat do the talking [Extra Bases]

This team needs more offense [Extra Bases]

Pregame notes from Fenway [Extra Bases]

Red Sox Outfield Set for Upgrade With Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Cameron Close to Returns [NESN.com]

Cano, V-Mart the worst offenders in dragged-out Yankees-Red Sox affair [Projo Sox Blog]

Cano, Pedroia making second first-rate [RedSox.com]

David Ortiz Offering Signs That It’s Still Too Early to Lose Faith [Tom Caron – NESN.com]

The Boston Red Sox continued their winning ways on Nomar Garciaparra night at Fenway Park as John Lackey shut down his former team in the Los Angeles Angels 3-1.

Lackey was dominant as he allowed just two hits through seven innings. It was his fifth quality start in six outings as he improved to 3-1 in a Red Sox uniform. His three wins ties him with Clay Buchholz for the team lead.

He’s pretty much been the pitcher that we expected to get sans the Patriot’s Day outing he had. Once again, he worked quickly on the mound and when he did get in trouble last night, he slowed things down a little and was able to work himself out of the jam. The only run he allowed came on a mistake pitch to Brandon Wood who took it out of the park.

David Ortiz has been up and down this season. Just when it looks he might be out of his slump, he reverts back (0-for-4 Tuesday). But last night Big Papi rewarded Terry Francona’s patience with a solo home run that turned out to be the game-winning run. But what was even nicer about it was that he hit it the opposite way into the Green Monster seats.

If he continues to try go with the pitches like J.D. Drew has, Papi should continue to see his average rise and his home run production could be the benefit of that like Drew’s.

Daisuke Matsuzaka is on the mound tonight for the Red Sox and after his last outing who knows what we’ll get. He was strong for the first four innings his last time out but then imploded to give up six runs. Hopefully he can give the Red Sox a strong outing like he did in those four innings for a little longer and not blow up.

The Red Sox could certainly use that as they get ready to host the New York Yankees over the weekend.

We’ll be back later with the lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and afternoon links but for now enjoy the overnight links.

Things We Learned: Francona observes milestone with patience [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

Memories cascade on Nomar’s night [Boston Globe]

Angels lacking something [Boston Globe]

For Beltre, confidence returning [Boston Globe]

Big Papi big hit on Nomar Night [Boston Herald]

Don’t count David Ortiz out [Boston Herald]

Nomar Garciaparra gives thanks to Red Sox Nation [Boston Herald]

John Lackey dazzles old team [Boston Herald]

Hot-hitting Adrian Beltre finally turns on power [Boston Herald]

Nomar Garciaparra’s Top Five [Boston Herald]

Sox beat Angels, 3-1, for third straight win [CSN New England]

Law’s take: Sox could end up releasing Ortiz [ESPN Boston]

Francona explains Ortiz decision [ESPN Boston]

Ortiz, Lackey fly right for the Red Sox [ESPN Boston]

First thoughts: Sox 3, Angels 1 [ESPN Boston]

New guys made a difference for Sox [Extra Bases]

Closing Time: Red Sox 3, Angels 1 [Full Count]

Red Sox rotation starting to roll [Full Count]

Terry Francona/John Lackey press conference [Full Count]

Scutaro expects to be fine after banging knee [Full Count]

A history of Terry Francona’s patience [Full Count]

Former Sox slugger Bay hits new low with Mets [Full Count]

Ortiz HRs vs Bad Pitching [Hit and Run with Dan Roche]

Nomar Garciaparra Night at Fenway Yet Another Chapter in Storied Career With Red Sox [NESN.com]

John Lackey Disposes of Angels in First Start Against Former Team [NESN.com]

Has Red Sox Offense Been Better Than Expected? [NESN.com]

Lackey’s in command against ex-teammates [Providence Journal]

Lackey: ‘Bard’s nasty. That’s all there is to it’ [Providence Journal]

Francona stands behind third-base coach Bogar [Providence Journal]

Beltre getting his power stroke back [Providence Journal]

Which way will Ortiz go? [Providence Journal]

Red Sox Journal: Hopefully, Nomar’s return is an omen [Providence Journal]

Papi showing signs of emerging from slump [RedSox.com]

Red-hot Drew sticks to basics [RedSox.com]

Nomar relishes his night at Fenway Park [RedSox.com]

Lackey overpowers former club [RedSox.com]

For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal and WEEI websites.

And if you must read the enemy paper, head over to the LA Times, LA Daily News and Orange County Register websites.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Football links

DC answered a few questions in his mailbag [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Big East’s star poised to burn bright in 2010 [ESPN.com – Big East Blog]

What we learned this spring [ESPN.com – Big East Blog]

No. 20 Connecticut Huskies [Athlon Sports]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Taurasi headed to Turkey [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Kalana Greene Scores 11 in WNBA Debut – And Makes A Three! [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

UConn Women And Duke Extend Series Thru 2015 [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Morgan Valley Moving On To UMass [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Huskies, Duke extend series [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

UConn Women To Renew Series With Duke [Hartford Courant]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Mike Anthony was busy answering questions in his mailbag [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

For the second straight night, pitching was the name of the game for the Boston Red Sox. This time it was John Lackey’s turn to shine against his former team in the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Lackey allowed just two hits and one run against his former team to lead his new team to a 3-1 win in front of 37,601 on Nomar Garciaparra Day at Fenway Park on Wednesday night.

It’s the third straight win for the Red Sox over the Angels as they get back to .500 at 14-14. For the Angels, it’s the sixth straight loss on in the first six games their ten-game road trip as they fall to 12-17.

Lackey had dominating stuff and only really got into trouble once, coming in the second inning. One of the two hits he allowed was to Kendry Morales in that inning.  He also had walk and hit a batter in the inning.  The other hit of the game came on a Brandon Wood home run. He finished with two walks and four strikeouts to pick up his third win of the season.

Daniel Bard struck out two in the 8th and Jonathan Papelbon worked a perfect 9th to pickup his eighth save of the season.

Adrian Beltre had three hits to raise his average to .340 and added two RBIs, one coming on his second home run of the season. The other run came off the bat of David Ortiz, who had two hits, including a solo home run. Dustin Pedroia also added two hits.

Beltre knocked in J.D. Drew for the first run of the game off of former Red Sox pitcher Joel Piñeiro after a walk to Drew and a single by Ortiz. Big Papi made it 2-0 with a solo home run into the Green Monster seats in the 4th.

Wood’s home run came with two outs in the 5th but Beltre’s solo home run in the 8th provided the 2-run cushion.

The Red Sox will look for the four-game sweep behind Daisuke Matsuzaka. He’ll be opposed by Scott Kazmir in a 7:10 p.m. game on Thursday night.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim @ Boston Red Sox 5.5.10 box score