Final, Angels 8-3: Huston Street closed the book on this one.
Dustin Pedroia, Alex Hassan (who pinch-hit for David Ortiz) and Yoenis Cespedes went down in order.
The difference in this game was Clay Buchholz’s fifth-inning implosion. Buchholz allowed five runs in the fifth en route to a six-run yield over six innings. He surrendered seven hits, struck out five and walked two.
Angels starter Garrett Richards left the game in the second inning with a gruesome leg injury. Richards injured his knee, according to the Angels.
Ortiz collected four hits in the loss. He has reached base four times in each of the first three games of this series despite Boston losing all three contests.
Rubby De La Rosa and Matt Shoemaker are scheduled to pitch Thursday’s finale.
Mid 9th, Angels 8-3: Craig Breslow’s 2014 woes continued in the ninth inning as the Angels tacked on a run.
Collin Cowgill led off with a single and took second base on a wild pitch.
Breslow rebounded to retire Kole Calhoun and Mike Trout, who surprisingly is 0-for-5, but Albert Pujols reached with two down.
Josh Hamilton made it 8-3 with an RBI single into left field.
End 8th, Angels 7-3: Xander Bogaerts reached to begin the bottom of the eighth inning.
Bogaerts hit a ground ball to third. John McDonald, who was just inserted into the game as a defensive replacement, charged in to field it but made a poor throw to first. Bogaerts took second on the throwing error.
That was where the Red Sox’s threat ended. Mookie Betts, David Ross and Brock Holt failed to do any damage.
Bogaerts took third base on Betts’ ground ball to second base. He stayed there, as Ross lined out to first base and Holt flied out to left field.
Craig Breslow will pitch the ninth inning with Boston trailing by four runs.
Mid 8th, Angels 7-3: Edward Mujica worked a clean eighth inning.
Mujica struck out David Freese and Chris Iannetta in a perfect frame. Freese went down swinging and Iannetta went down looking.
The two K’s sandwiched Erick Aybar’s popout to Xander Bogaerts.
End 7th, Angels 7-3: David Ortiz has made life difficult for the Angels.
Ortiz singled off Kevin Jepsen with one out in the seventh inning. Big Papi is 4-for-4 with a home run in this contest.
Ortiz has reached base four times in each of the first three games of this series. He’s the first Red Sox player to reach base four times in three straight games since Johnny Damon in 2002.
Yoenis Cespedes followed with a double into the right field corner. Ortiz was held at third base, setting the table for Daniel Nava and Kelly Johnson.
Neither Nava nor Johnson could produce a timely knock.
Nava hit a fly ball to left field that wasn’t deep enough to score Ortiz from third base. Collin Cowgill fired a missile to the plate. Johnson struck out swinging to end the inning.
Edward Mujica will pitch the eighth inning for Boston.
Mid 7th, Angels 7-3: Mookie Betts looks a little bit more like an actual outfielder every game.
After his near-miss throw that almost got Trout at home, Betts dashed deep into left-center field to snare a fly ball by Kendrick. Betts’ catch ended the inning, though it was not enough to prevent the Angels from tacking on another run.
Calhoun led off with a double to right against reliever Burke Badenhop and moved to third on a groundout by Trout. Pujols walked, then Hamilton drove a deep sac fly to right that scored Calhoun. Kendrick also sent a fly in that direction, but Betts turned on the jets to sit him down.
End 6th, Angels 6-3:Â On to the seventh we go, and the Red Sox have some ground to make up.
Fernando Salas replaced Morin and began his night by striking out Bogaerts. Betts then singled up the middle, then took second on a wild pitch.
Ross was retired on a foul pop behind first base, with Holt ending Boston’s half of the sixth by rolling out to first.
Mid 6th, Angels 6-3:Â The sixth inning was a bit more crisp than the fifth was for Buchholz.
Aybar led off and grounded out to first base, with Johnson flipping to Buchholz. Iannetta and Navarro both went down swinging for a simple 1-2-3 inning.
End 5th, Angels 6-3:Â Mike Morin came in to pitch for the Angels, and while he didn’t give up any runs, things did not exactly go smoothly.
Pedroia whiffed, followed by a double off the wall by Ortiz. Cespedes grounded to shortstop, forcing Ortiz at second, but was able to reach first ahead of Kendrick’s throw.
Cespedes’ hustle kept the inning alive, which Nava extended by taking a walk. But Johnson flied out to left to enable Morin to wriggle out of the jam.
Mid 5th, Angels 6-3:Â So, that wasn’t so hot for the Red Sox.
Aybar singled to center, Iannetta walked and Navarro singled to right to load the bases. Calhoun also walked, sending home Aybar to pull the Angels within a run.
Facing Trout with the bases loaded, Buchholz got the DH to pop out to short right. But a miscommunication between Pedroia and Nava allowed the ball to drop, giving Trout an RBI fielder’s choice when Nava threw to second base to force out Calhoun.
It only got worse for the Red Sox after that. Pujols plated Navarro with a single to right to give the Angels a 4-3 lead, and extended that to 5-3 when he flied out to center and Trout dashed home just ahead of Betts’ throw.
Kendrick singled home Pujols, then stole second. The wheels had come off almost completely, but Freese finally helped Buchholz wriggle out of it by grounding out to second.
Team officials have provided an update on Richards. It is being called a left-knee patellar injury.
End 4th, Red Sox 3-1: The bottom of the fourth was uneventful. Betts flied out and Ross faced seven pitches before finally hitting a flare to short that was gloved by Aybar. Holt lined out to first to end the inning.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 3-1: The Angels cut into the Red Sox’s lead.
Clay Buchholz, who has been efficient to this point, recorded two quick outs in the fourth inning. Mike Trout flied out to center field and Albert Pujols scorched a line drive to left field.
The third out proved elusive, as Josh Hamilton peppered the Green Monster for a two-out double.
Howie Kendrick singled into center field to plate Hamilton with Los Angeles’ first run.
End 3rd, Red Sox 3-0: The three-oh club has a new member.
Ortiz crushed his 30th home run of the season in the third inning. It marks Ortiz’s eighth 30-homer season with Boston, which ties Ted Williams for the most such seasons in Red Sox history.
There was no doubt off the bat that No. 30 was leaving the yard. Ortiz demolished Cory Rasmus’ first pitch of the inning into the Angels’ bullpen in right field. The sound of it was perfection.
Daniel Nava also reached on an error in the third inning, but Rasmus avoided any additional damage on the scoreboard.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 2-0: Clay Buchholz needed just seven pitches to toss a 1-2-3 third inning.
Buchholz retired Chris Iannetta, Efren Navarro and Kole Calhoun in order. The right-hander has only thrown 31 pitches to this point.
Buchholz struck out Iannetta for his third strikeout of the contest. Iannetta, who delivered the game-winning hit Tuesday, fanned on an offspeed offering from Buchholz.
End 2nd, Red Sox 2-0: The big story of the second inning obviously was Garrett Richards’ injury. But let’s look at how the Red Sox scored their second run.
Kelly Johnson and Xander Bogaerts reached to begin the inning. Johnson singled and Bogaerts worked a five-pitch walk.
David Ross, who was activated from the 15-day disabled list before the game, singled into left-center field to knock in Johnson from second.
Richards’ injury occurred when Brock Holt grounded to first base. Albert Pujols made the play and tossed to second to retire Ross. Shortstop Erick couldn’t deliver a throw back to first because Richards, who was racing over to cover the bag, went down like a ton of bricks. His right leg completely buckled underneath him.
8:04 p.m., Red Sox 2-0: The entire Angels team emerged from the dugout following Garrett Richards’ ugly injury. Several Red Sox players, including David Ortiz, did the same. It was just a deflating scene.
Richards was placed on a stretcher, seemingly with his knee immobilized. He was taken off the field after several minutes — that seemed like hours — of laying near first base.
Richards wasn’t even forced to field a throw on the play. His leg simply buckled as he approached the bag.
Cory Rasmus is the new Angels pitcher.
Richards has developed into a stud for the Angels. That’s a huge blow for Los Angeles’ pitching staff, especially with the Halos already losing Tyler Skaggs earlier this month.
7:56 p.m., Red Sox 2-0: It’s a horrible scene at Fenway Park.
Angels pitcher Garrett Richards’ right leg buckled underneath him while covering first base in the second inning. He’s about to be carted off the field after minutes of laying near first base.
There’s a stunned silence over the Fenway crowd. Not good.
Mid 2nd, Red Sox 1-0: Clay Buchholz avoided any two-out trouble.
Buchholz began the second inning with two quick outs. Josh Hamilton labeled a line drive right at first baseman Kelly Johnson and Howie Kendrick flied out to right fielder Daniel Nava.
David Freese, who hit a couple of balls hard Tuesday night, lined a single into center field with two down.
Buchholz forced Erick Aybar to hit a chopper to second base to end the inning.
End 1st, Red Sox 1-0: The Red Sox scored in the first inning for the second consecutive night.
Dustin Pedroia ripped a laser to the left side with one out. It deflected off third baseman David Freese and into left field for a base hit.
David Ortiz followed with a single into right field that sent Pedroia racing from first to third.
Yoenis Cespedes, who entered Tuesday’s game in the ninth inning as a pinch-hitter for Christian Vazquez, lifted a fly ball down the right field line. Pedroia tagged up and scored Boston’s first run.
Daniel Nava added a single to extend the inning. He was thrown out trying to swipe second base, though.
Mid 1st, 0-0: Very efficient first inning for Clay Buchholz.
Buchholz needed just 11 pitches to retire the side in order. It sure beat his first inning out in Anaheim, when Buchholz surrendered two runs through the first three batters.
Buchholz started his outing by striking out Kole Calhoun on three pitches. That’s quite an accomplishment given the way Calhoun has swung the bat versus the Red Sox this season.
Buchholz then struck out Mike Trout. Trout chased a curveball out of the zone.
Albert Pujols ended the inning with a line drive to Daniel Nava in right field.
7:12 p.m.: Clay Buchholz starts the ballgame with a first-pitch strike.
6:40 p.m.: Will Middlebrooks and Mike Napoli are out of the Red Sox’s starting lineup.
Middlebrooks left Tuesday’s game in the fourth inning because of right hamstring tightness. The third baseman currently is day-to-day. Red Sox manager John Farrell said before Wednesday’s game that he doesn’t expect Middlebrooks’ ailment to be a long-term issue.
Mike Napoli is dealing with back spasms, hence his absence from the lineup. Brock Holt and Kelly Johnson will play third base and first base, respectively. Yoenis Cespedes (left field), Mookie Betts (center field) and Daniel Nava (right field) will hold down the outfield.
David Ross, who was activated from the disabled list Wednesday, will start behind the plate.
Wednesday’s complete lineups are below.
Boston Red Sox (56-69)
Brock Holt, 3B
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Yoenis Cespedes, LF
Daniel Nava, RF
Kelly Johnson, 1B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Mookie Betts, CF
David Ross, C
Clay Buchholz, RHP (5-7, 5.79 ERA)
Los Angeles Angels (74-50)
Kole Calhoun, RF
Mike Trout, DH
Albert Pujols, 1B
Josh Hamilton, CF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
David Freese, 3B
Erick Aybar, SS
Chris Iannetta, C
Efren Navarro, LF
Garrett Richards, RHP (13-4, 2.53 ERA)
6:35 p.m.: The Red Sox made a few roster moves Wednesday.
Catcher David Ross, who had been dealing with a foot injury, was activated off the 15-day disabled list. Catcher Dan Butler was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket in a corresponding roster move.
Outfielder/first baseman Alex Hassan, a native of Milton, Mass., was recalled from Pawtucket. Pitcher Steven Wright was sent down.
6:30 p.m. ET: The Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels played 19 innings the last time Clay Buchholz and Garrett Richards hooked up.
Richards carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning of that marathon contest and Buchholz also pitched well after a shaky first inning. Neither pitcher factored into the decision, of course, as the Sox and Halos played for a million hours — that’s an exaggeration — before settling things.
Buchholz and Richards will battle again Wednesday at Fenway Park. The Angels have taken the first two games of the four-game series. The Red Sox have lost four of their last five games.
It’s been a rough season for Buchholz, who is the only remaining member of Boston’s Opening Day rotation — Jon Lester, John Lackey, Jake Peavy and Felix Doubront all were traded. But the right-hander’s last two starts have been encouraging. Buchholz allowed two runs on seven hits over seven innings Friday in his last start against the Houston Astros.
Richards has had an excellent season for the Halos. The 26-year-old has a 1.19 ERA (three earned runs over 22 2/3 innings) in three starts this month and enters Wednesday with a 13-4 record and 2.53 ERA overall.
Wednesday’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. Tune in on NESN and keep it right here with NESN.com’s live blog.
