Final, Red Sox 10-5:

Jarrod Saltalamacchia crushed two home runs as part of Boston’s 11-hit attack. David Ortiz and Mike Carp each went deep as well, and the Red Sox take two of three from the Angels.

Ryan Dempster went six innings while grabbing the win. He allowed three runs on six hits while striking out six, walking two and hitting a batter. Overall, he was pretty solid, especially considering he gave up a long ball to Albert Pujols in the first inning.

The Red Sox will now travel to Tampa Bay to start up a seven-game road trip. John Lackey will get the start in the first game of the series on Monday. That contest will start up at 7:10 p.m.

Good night, everyone.

End 8th, Red Sox 10-5: Mike Napoli will want to forget about this one from a personal standpoint.

Napoli struck out again in the eighth inning, and he’s now struck out four times in the game.

Napoli’s fourth K capped off a scoreless inning for Kevin Jepsen, who also retired Pedro Ciriaco and David Ortiz in the frame.

Andrew Bailey will pitch the ninth inning for Boston in a non-save situation.

Mid 8th, Red Sox 10-5: Koji Uehara typically throws nothing but strikes. That wasn’t the case in the eighth inning, though.

Uehara plunked Howie Kendrick up around the shoulder and walked two other hitters to load the bases for J.B. Shuck. Shuck made Uehara pay for his control issues by grounding a two-run single into center field.

Uehara was a strike away from retiring Shuck, but he couldn’t put him away, and John Farrell decided that he had seen enough. Farrell turned to Andrew Miller.

Mike Trout shot a base hit into right field against Miller, but the Red Sox caught a break. Shuck took too wide of a turn around second base, and he was tagged out by Stephen Drew.

End 7th, Red Sox 10-3: Scott Downs retired Daniel Nava upon entering the game, but the damage was done. The Red Sox are rolling in this one.

Saltalamacchia’s two home run game is the fourth of his career. The last time he launched two dingers in the same contest was on Aug. 26, 2012, against the Chicago White Sox.

Koji Uehara will pitch the eighth inning for Boston.

4:28, Red Sox 10-3: It looks like batting practice for Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Salty, who crushed a ball onto the black tarp in center field in the sixth inning, launched his second home run of the game in the seventh inning. The second blast also traveled to center field, and it landed in the seats just to the right of the tarp.

Saltalamacchia’s second home run was a three-run shot, as David Ortiz and Mike Napoli walked before.

Stephen Drew singled and Jose Iglesias smoked a double off the left field wall with two outs. The Angels will make a pitching change with runners at second and third.

Scott Downs is entering the contest to replace Robert Coello, who simply didn’t have it.

Mid 7th, Red Sox 7-3: Mike Trout is fun to watch.

Trout doubled for the second straight at-bat in the seventh inning. He lifted a fly ball off the Green Monster scoreboard that was just out of Mike Carp’s reach.

The double followed an unsuccessful bunt attempt by J.B. Shuck. Shuck popped it up into the air, and Jose Iglesias came streaking in to make the play on the fly.

After Trout’s double, Josh Hamilton grounded out to short, which allowed Trout to take third base. Albert Pujols, who drove in the Angels’ first run via a first-inning home run, couldn’t cash in, though. He popped out in foul territory.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Mike Napoli nearly collided on Pujols’ popout, but disaster was averted at the last second.

The book is officially closed on Dempster’s outing. The right-hander gave up three earned runs on six hits over six innings. He struck out six, walked two and threw 110 pitches (66 strikes).

End 6th, Red Sox 7-3: Michael Kohn took over for Joe Blanton, and the defense didn’t provide much help.

Howie Kendrick let a ball eat him up at second base. That allowed Stephen Drew to reach with no outs in the inning.

Then, with Jose Iglesias batting, a passed ball charged to Chris Iannetta allowed Drew to advance to second base.

Kohn did a good job of escaping the jam, though. He got both Iglesias and Jacoby Ellsbury to fly out to right field, and Daniel Nava struck out swinging to end the inning.

Blanton, who exited after surrendering back-to-back home runs in the sixth, gave up six earned runs on eight hits over his five innings of work. He threw 95 pitches (63 strikes), and he’s currently on the hook for the loss if this score holds up.

Craig Breslow will take over for Ryan Dempster in the seventh inning.

3:45 p.m., Red Sox 7-3: The Red Sox started teeing off in the sixth inning.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Mike Carp each took Joe Blanton deep, and the Angels will now turn to the bullpen. Michael Kohn will enter the game.

Salty and Carp each went deep to center field. Saltalamacchia’s blast landed on the black tarp straight away, while Carp’s dinger found its way into the seats.

Mid 6th, Red Sox 5-3: Ryan Dempster followed Joe Blanton’s 1-2-3 inning with a perfect frame of his own.

Dempster sat down Alberto Callaspo, Erick Aybar and Chris Iannetta in order. He struck out Callaspo and Iannetta in the process, which gives Dempster six strikeouts in the game.

The strikeout of Callaspo was the 2,000th of Dempster’s career. The guy’s been getting it done for a while.

End 5th, Red Sox 5-3: It’s been a struggle at times for Joe Blanton, but he’s through five innings in this one.

Blanton was actually pretty sharp in the fifth inning, too. He retired Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz and Mike Napoli in order.

Ortiz and Napoli both struck out. Ortiz went down looking on a somewhat high strike call, and Napoli went down hacking at a four-seamer.

Mid 5th, Red Sox 5-3: The Angels answered again in the fifth inning.

Mike Trout — who is just really, really good at baseball — led off the inning with a double over Mike Carp’s head in left field. It landed near the base of the Green Monster, and Trout, who runs very well, slid safely into second with time to spare.

Ryan Dempster bounced back after Trout’s leadoff two-bagger. He struck out Josh Hamilton, and got Albert Pujols to fly harmlessly to center field. Mark Trumbo proved to be a tough out, though.

Trumbo fell behind 0-2 after waving at two straight sliders. Dempster couldn’t put him away, however, as Trumbo smacked an RBI single into center field.

End 4th, Red Sox 5-2: Jacoby Ellsbury has really been seeing the ball well.

Ellsbury lined a triple down into the right field corner to push Boston’s advantage back up to three runs. The hit followed a rather interesting sequence.

Alberto Callaspo, who homered in the top half of the inning, started the bottom half off with a defensive miscue. His error allowed Mike Carp to reach base.

Carp then showed off some hustle two batters later. Joe Blanton threw a pitch in the dirt with Jose Iglesias at the dish. It bounced near the front of the plate and bounced a mile into the air. Carp took off immediately. By the time catcher Chris Iannetta tracked down the wild pitch at the backstop, Carp was on his way to third base.

Iglesias ended up popping out in foul territory along the first base line, but Ellsbury made sure the Red Sox didn’t let Joe Blanton off the hook.

Mid 4th, Red Sox 4-2: Alberto Callaspo wasted no time in answering for David Ortiz’s home run.

Fours were wild for Callaspo. He ripped the fourth pitch of the fourth inning down the right field line and into the seats for his fourth home run of the season.

Ryan Dempster responded by retiring the next three hitters — Erick Aybar, Chris Iannetta and J.B. Shuck — in order. Callaspo’s home run may help stop Boston’s momentum, though. Now, it’s up to Joe Blanton to bounce back in the fourth after a shaky third inning.

End 3rd, Red Sox 4-1: Albert Pujols sent one into the Red Sox’ bullpen in the first inning. It was David Ortiz’s turn in the third inning.

Ortiz, a decorated slugger in his own right, lifted a three-run jack over the wall and into the ‘pen in right-center field to cap off a four-run inning for the Red Sox.

Jose Iglesias got the offensive attack going with a ground ball into the hole. Shortstop Erick Aybar made a very nice backhanded play, but he was unable to deliver a strong enough throw in time to record the out. The infield single extended Iglesias’ hit streak to 13 games.

Jacoby Ellsbury then grounded into a forceout, which, as it turned out, wasn’t the worst thing that could happen. Ellsbury swiped his American League-leading 24th base, and he scored to give Boston its first run when Daniel Nava singled into right field.

The big blast in the inning came from Ortiz, though. After Dustin Pedroia singled into left field, Ortiz jumped on an inside changeup. At first, it looked like Ortiz may have gotten under it a bit, but it ended up carrying out of the yard.

Mid 3rd, Angels 1-0: Ryan Dempster can thank Stephen Drew for this game still being 1-0.

Drew made an excellent sliding, backhanded play to end the third inning with the bases loaded.

The inning kicked off with J.B. Shuck connecting on a double into the left-center field gap. The ball just kept tailing away from a hustling Jacoby Ellsbury, and it eventually landed in between him and Mike Carp.

Mike Trout then smacked a sharply hit comebacker that Dempster snatched up. Dempster looked Shuck back at second base, and he then fired to first for the first out.

Josh Hamilton lined out to right field for the second out, and then things got a little bit interesting. Dempster went inside and hit Albert Pujols on the second pitch of his at-bat. Pujols, who homered back in the first inning, gave Dempster a little bit of a stare while taking a few steps along the infield grass en route to first base.

Mark Trumbo stepped up, and while he was batting, Dempster thew a pitch in the dirt that allowed Shuck to take third. Trumbo eventually walked, which loaded the bases for Howie Kendrick.

Kendrick drilled a 1-1 slider into the hole, where Drew made his nice stop. Drew quickly popped to his feet and tossed to second base to complete an inning-ending forceout.

End 2nd, Angels 1-0: The second inning was a mixed bag for Joe Blanton.

Blanton put two runners on and struck out two in what ended up being a scoreless frame.

David Ortiz, who crushed a 434-foot home run off Angels reliever Jerome Williams on Saturday, began the second inning with a sharply hit single into right field.

Blanton immediately settled down to pick up back-to-back strikeouts. The righty fanned Mike Napoli and Jarrod Saltalamacchia swinging, with each getting out in front of a changeup.

Mike Carp followed the strikeouts with a four-pitch walk, and Blanton ended the inning by getting Stephen Drew to pop out in foul territory along the third base line. Third baseman Albert Callaspo and shortstop Erick Aybar both gave chase, but Callaspo called for it at the last second and made the play.

Mid 2nd, Angels 1-0: Ryan Dempster issued a leadoff walk, but was overall sharper in the second inning.

Dempster, who was victimized by an Albert Pujols home run in the first inning, walked Alberto Callaspo on five pitches. It wouldn’t haunt the right-hander, though, as he quickly got Erick Aybar to ground into a 4-6-3 double play.

Dempster capped the inning with a strikeout of Chris Iannetta. Dempster went with a slider to pick up the strikeout — just as he did against Mike Trout in the first inning.

End 1st, Angels 1-0: The Red Sox squared up a couple of balls in the first inning. They just weren’t well-placed.

Jacoby Ellsbury led off the inning by hitting a hard line drive into left field. It looked off the bat like it would fall in for a hit, but J.B. Shuck came in and made a nice sliding catch for the first out.

Daniel Nava also made solid contact against Joe Blanton. He drilled a line drive into center field that hung up just long enough for Mike Trout to coast in and make a play.

Dustin Pedroia ended the inning by grounding to third base, where Albert Callaspo took care of business.

Mid 1st, Angels 1-0: Albert Pujols is having a hard time running the bases because of a foot issue. The easiest way to avoid pushing it too hard is to hit the ball out of the ballpark.

That’s exactly what Pujols did in the first inning. Pujols tattooed a 2-1 fastball into the Red Sox’ bullpen to give the Angels an early 1-0 lead.

Ryan Dempster struck out Mike Trout with a 3-2 slider, and then retired Josh Hamilton via a ground ball to short before Pujols took the right-hander deep.

Mark Trumbo followed up Pujols’ long ball with a line-drive single over the head of a leaping Dustin Pedroia. Dempster bounced back to strike out Howie Kendrick swinging.

1:42 p.m.: Ryan Dempster’s first pitch misses for a ball, and we’re underway on an absolutely perfect day at Fenway.

1:32 p.m.: The Red Sox just held an on-field ceremony for this year’s batch of Red Sox scholars.

In an interesting twist, they played Macho Man Randy Savage’s theme song.

12:22 p.m.: Fenway really has been friendly to the Red Sox of late. The Sox have won seven of their last 10 games at Fenway, outscoring opponents 68-38 during that stretch.

The Red Sox enter Sunday’s contest with a solid track record in day games this season as well. Although they dropped Saturday’s matinee, the Sox lead the majors with a .667 winning percentage (12-6) in day games this year.

11:28 a.m.: The lineup cards have been posted, and Shane Victorino will get the day off Sunday.

Victorino, who was activated off the 15-day disabled list before the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, really had to push his hamstring in the first inning of the win. Jonny Gomes drilled a double off the left-center field wall, and Victorino motored all the way around from first base to score. Victorino walked back to the dugout rather gingerly, and while he played the rest of the game, he’ll get Sunday off as the Red Sox look to avoid any further complications.

Victorino’s absence means Daniel Nava will bat second and play right field. With a right-hander on the mound, Mike Carp will start in left field.

The rest of Sunday’s lineups are below.

Red Sox (38-25)
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Daniel Nava, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Napoli, 1B
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Mike Carp, LF
Stephen Drew, SS
Jose Iglesias, 3B

Ryan Dempster, RHP (3-6, 4.39 ERA)

Angels (27-35)
Mike Trout, CF
Josh Hamilton, RF
Albert Pujols, DH
Mark Trumbo, 1B
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Alberto Callaspo, 3B
Erick Aybar, SS
Chris Iannetta, C
J.B. Shuck, LF

Joe Blanton, (1-9, 5.53 ERA)

8 a.m. ET: The Red Sox needed Clay Buchholz to step up in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader. The right-hander responded by pitching into the seventh inning to help give the Sox a 7-2 victory, which salvaged a split of the twin bill.

Now, the Red Sox will turn to Ryan Dempster in the series finale. They’ll be seeking to not only win the series, but also end their six-game homestand on a positive note. The Sox head to Tampa Bay after Sunday’s game to kick off a seven-game road trip.

Dempster enters Sunday’s start on the heels of a victory his last time out. He allowed three runs over seven innings in that contest, although life was much easier for him because of the 17 runs that the Sox racked up against the Rangers. Dempster’s season record sits at 3-6, and his ERA checks in at 4.39.

Dempster will go up against Joe Blanton on Sunday, and Blanton has been one of the worst pitchers in baseball this season. The 32-year-old owns a 1-9 record and 5.53 ERA. He actually pretty well in his last start, allowing two runs in eight innings against the Astros on Monday, but the Angels fell 2-1 in that game.

Sunday looks like it’s shaping up to be a beautiful day — a great day for baseball. The action will start up at 1:35 p.m.

Final, Red Sox 7-2:

The Sox fell to the Halos 9-5 in the first game of the twin bill, but Boston controlled the second game from start to finish. Clay Buchholz was once again fantastic, although he exited the game in the seventh inning with what is being described as neck stiffness.

The Red Sox, who scored three runs in the ninth inning of Game 1, got off to a hot start in Game 2. They put up two runs in the first inning and one more in the second inning en route to the victory.

Jonny Gomes, Dustin Pedroia and Mike Napoli each had two hits in the win. Ortiz, who finished with three RBIs, launched a mammoth two-run homer in the sixth inning.

The Red Sox and Angels will go toe-to-toe again on Sunday. Ryan Dempster will get the start, and the game is scheduled to start up at 1:35 p.m.

Good night, everyone.

End 8th, Red Sox 7-2: Brad Hawpe showed everyone how not to play a fly ball in the eighth inning.

Jerome Williams, who was pitching his third inning, got two quick outs before David Ortiz stepped up and lifted a fly ball into left field. Hawpe ran over toward the line, but there was one problem — he ran a little bit too far.

Ortiz’s fly ball dropped out of Hawpe’s reach and in fair territory, allowing the slugger to get all the way to second base.

Williams made sure the miscue didn’t hurt by striking out Mike Napoli, who has fanned three times in this game.

Mid 8th, Red Sox 7-2: Craig Breslow, who entered the game in the seventh inning when Clay Buchholz departed, came back out to pitch the eighth. He retired all three hitters he faced.

The highlight of the inning came when Josh Hamilton grounded to the right side. Dustin Pedroia made an excellent stop in shallow right field with the shift on, and he fired to first to complete the out.

Hamilton went into a head-first dive in an effort to beat out Pedroia’s throw, but it proved to be a fruitless effort. I’m sure the Angels would prefer that their $125 million man not dive into first base too much going forward.

Albert Pujols and Mark Trumbo each flied out to end the inning.

10:24 p.m., Red Sox 7-2: Clay Buchholz’s injury is being described as neck stiffness. Hopefully, we’ll get some more information after the game.

End 7th, Red Sox 7-2: The Red Sox put a couple of runners into scoring position in the seventh inning, but they couldn’t extend their lead.

Jerome Williams, who gave up three runs in the sixth inning, got two quick outs in the seventh. Daniel Nava struck out and David Ross flied out to center field.

The Sox made a little noise at that point, though.

Stephen Drew smacked a line-drive single into right field. Jose Iglesias followed up by doing the same, and Drew, who was running on the pitch, ended up going from first to third.

Iglesias kicked things up a notch by swiping second base, even with the Angels calling a pitch out. Shane Victorino couldn’t cash in with runners at second and third, though. He grounded out to first baseman Mark Trumbo.

Mid 7th, Red Sox 7-2: The big news in the seventh inning was obviously Clay Buchholz exiting. It might just be a precautionary move, but the right-hander still looked bothered by something.

Once Buchholz exited, Craig Breslow took over and retired Mike Trout via a groundout to third base.

9:59 p.m., Red Sox 7-2: Clay Buchholz is coming out of this ballgame.

John Farrell and the trainer came out to check on Buchholz, who could be seen stretching out his right arm during the seventh inning. It’s unclear what is wrong with the right-hander, but Farrell certainly isn’t going to take any chances.

Craig Breslow will enter the game with a runner on first and two outs.

End 6th, Red Sox 7-2: Jerome Williams took over on the mound in the sixth inning, and the Red Sox gave him a not-so-warm welcome.

Jose Iglesias reached to start the inning, and some sloppy defense allowed him to advance all the way to third base. Iglesias took second when Mark Trumbo couldn’t handle Williams’ pickoff attempt, and he took third on a passed ball by Hank Conger with Dustin Pedroia batting.

Pedroia worked the count full, and then inside-outed a single into right field. Iglesias crossed the plate with Boston’s fifth run.

The Red Sox weren’t done, though.

David Ortiz absolutely crushed an inside fastball into the seats in right field. It was a moonshot by Ortiz, who just keeps raking. The Red Sox now have their biggest lead of the night.

Mid 6th, Red Sox 4-2: The Angels added a run in the sixth inning, and it accompanied another quick scare involving Clay Buchholz.

Josh Hamilton, who has had a difficult year to date, shot a double into the left-center field gap. He advanced to third base when Albert Pujols grounded out to short, and he scored when the powerful Mark Trumbo lifted a sac fly to right field.

The scare involving Buchholz came with two down in the inning. Howie Kendrick smoked a line drive right back at Buchholz. The right-hander got his glove up, but the ball appeared to hit near his palm. Buchholz ditched the glove and chased the ball down in an effort to record the out, but Kendrick beat out Buchholz’s throw.

John Farrell and the team trainer checked on Buchholz following the comebacker, and it appears that disaster was averted. It wasn’t without a few tense seconds, though.

Buchholz struck out Brad Hawpe for the third time to end the inning. Hawpe went down looking on a sick four-seamer on the inside corner.

End 5th, Red Sox 4-1: C.J. Wilson is probably a little frustrated after that half inning.

Mike Napoli grounded down the third base line with one out. Alberto Callaspo, who has been playing tremendous defense down at the hot corner in this game, made an excellent backhanded stop. His throw to first base was in the dirt, though, and Mark Trumbo couldn’t pick it.

Napoli hustled and slid into second base safely following Callaspo’s errant throw. That was big, as it allowed Napoli to score two batters later.

After Daniel Nava flied out to right field for the second out, David Ross hit a little blooper into left-center. Three Angels players converged on it, but it dropped in between them, resulting in an RBI single.

Wilson really hung a curveball on the pitch that Ross put in play, so the lefty is actually lucky that the Boston backstop didn’t send it into the seats.

Stephen Drew struck out swinging to end the inning.

Mid 5th, Red Sox 3-1: Clay Buchholz has once again been very sharp. The only hiccup thus far came back in the third inning.

Buchholz enjoyed another 1-2-3 inning in the fifth. Hank Conger, Erick Aybar and Mike Trout were taken down in order.

Conger and Trout were both retired via flyouts, and Aybar grounded out to second.

Buchholz has thrown 77 pitches (57 strikes) through five innings of work.

End 4th, Red Sox 3-1: C.J. Wilson finally enjoyed an easy inning.

Wilson retired Shane Victorino, Jonny Gomes and Dustin Pedroia in order in the fourth.

Victorino flied out to left field, Gomes grounded out to third base and Pedroia grounded back to the mound.

Mid 4th, Red Sox 3-1: The top of the fourth inning brought some crazy defense.

First, it was Shane Victorino who made a great play. Howie Kendrick drilled a ball toward the triangle, but Victorino sprinted back and made a running catch to rob Kendrick of an extra-base hit.

Clay Buchholz then struck out Brad Hawpe before turning in a very eventful — for lack of a better word — play to end the inning.

Alberto Callaspo chopped a ball to the right side. Buchholz ran off the mound and attempted to make the play, which should have been relatively routine. He dropped the ball, though, and he ended up hitting the deck while trying to corral it. Eventually, Buchholz gained control of the baseball and reached out while on his back to tag Callaspo just in time.

John Farrell’s heart probably skipped a beat when he saw his ace rolling on the ground, but Buchholz appears to be just fine.

End 3rd, Red Sox 3-1: Nothing has been easy for C.J. Wilson.

Daniel Nava, who had three hits in the first game, singled into left field to get the Red Sox’ offense going. Wilson ended up working around the hit, but he labored a little bit while holding Boston scoreless. The southpaw tossed 23 pitches, and he’s now thrown 78 pitches through three innings.

Nava moved up to second base when David Ross dropped down a successful sacrifice bunt. Ross almost reached safely, but third baseman Alberto Callaspo made a sensational barehanded play to record the out at first.

Stephen Drew struck out for the second out. Drew thought the pitch was low, and he let home plate umpire Marvin Hudson know it.

Jose Iglesias flied out to center field to end the inning.

Mid 3rd, Red Sox 3-1: Clay Buchholz’s command wasn’t quite the same in the third inning, and the Angels have begun chipping away.

Hank Conger led off the inning with a double down the right field line. He moved up to third base when Erick Aybar capped off a terrific at-bat with a ground ball to the right side.

Aybar fouled off three straight pitches, laid off a ball in the dirt, and then fouled off three more pitches before finally grounding out to first base. It was a very productive out, as it advanced the runner and helped elevate Buchholz’s pitch count.

Conger scored when Mike Trout, who had three hits in Game 1 of the doubleheader, singled into right field.

Josh Hamilton put good wood on a first-pitch changeup, but Daniel Nava sized it up and put it away for the second out of the inning.

Buchholz and the Red Sox thought that they were out of the inning when Albert Pujols, who was fooled on the pitch, foul tipped a two-strike curveball. It bounced off the plate, though, and Pujols stayed alive long enough to earn a walk.

Pujols’ free pass put the tying run on base, but Buchholz retired Mark Trumbo on a fly ball to deep center.

End 2nd, Red Sox 3-0: C.J. Wilson looked poised for a bounce-back inning, but the Red Sox’ offense started clicking with two outs.

Jonny Gomes, who hammered an RBI double in the first inning, picked up his second hit of the night. He ripped a base hit into left field that sailed just over a leaping attempt by shortstop Erick Aybar.

Wilson, who has already thrown 55 pitches, then walked Dustin Pedroia to put David Ortiz in a position to do damage.

Ortiz responded by drilling a line-drive double down the left field line. Gomes crossed the plate with Boston’s third run, while Pedroia scampered into third base.

The Red Sox could have done even more damage, but Mike Napoli struck out for the second time to end the inning.

Mid 2nd, Red Sox 2-0: The Angels got their first hit of the game, but Clay Buchholz ensured it didn’t amount to much.

Buchholz struck out Mark Trumbo swinging to begin the inning. Howie Kendrick then shot a single into right field that ricocheted off the wall.

Buchholz retired the next two hitters, Brad Hawpe and Alberto Callaspo, via a strikeout and a flyout. Hawpe was frozen on a filthy cutter that tailed back over the plate.

Shane Victorino will bat second in the third inning, so that should give us a good indication of how he’s feeling after limping briefly in the first inning.

End 1st, Red Sox 2-0: It looks like that momentum that the Red Sox’ offense started gaining in the ninth inning of Game 1 has indeed carried over into Game 2.

Shane Victorino, playing in his first game since May 20, was forced to test his hamstring right away, and it looks to be bothering him a little bit.

Victorino singled into left field on C.J. Wilson’s second pitch of the game, and he came around to score when Jonny Gomes doubled high off the left field wall. Victorino really had to push it to score from first base, and he walked back to the Red Sox’ dugout rather gingerly before then heading down the tunnel with the trainer.

Dustin Pedroia gave the Red Sox a two-run lead with an RBI double into right field. Pedroia did a nice job of going the other way, and his hit streak is up to 12 games. Pedroia’s on-base streak extends to 17 games.

After a mound visit, David Ortiz threatened to add to Boston’s run total. He made solid contact but got under it a little bit, and he was retired via a flyout to left field.

Mike Napoli struck out swinging for the second out. Wilson buzzed Napoli up and in with a 93-mph fastball in an 0-2 count, which really caught the slugger’s attention. Napoli stared back toward the mound before striking out on the next pitch. The up-and-in offering put Napoli on his toes, but he couldn’t catch up to a fastball on the outside corner.

Wilson really labored from there. He walked both Daniel Nava and David Ross to load the bases, but Stephen Drew couldn’t extend the lead any further. Drew struck out swinging on a high fastball.

Wilson threw 32 pitches in the very lengthy first inning.

It looks like Victorino will remain in the game, but it’s worth keeping an eye on him to see if his hamstring tightens up at all as this game rolls on.

Mid 1st, 0-0:  Clay Buchholz hit the ground running in the first inning, shutting down the Angels’ potent, top-of-the-order trio.

Buchholz retired Mike Trout, Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols in order.

Trout popped out to Jose Iglesias along the third base line. Hamilton grounded into the shift on the right side. Pujols popped out to Dustin Pedroia in the middle of the infield.

The Red Sox’ bats will now head up to the dish looking to build on the momentum they generated in the ninth inning of Game 1.

7:18 p.m.: Clay Buchholz’s first pitch is right down the pike for a strike. Let’s get it on!

7:02 p.m.: It definitely makes sense to give Jacoby Ellsbury the night off, seeing as how he just returned from a groin injury. The Red Sox could miss his bat atop the order, though.

Ellsbury owns a seven-game hit streak (dating back to before the injury), during which he’s hitting .500 (16-for-32). He has at least two hits in five of those seven contests.

6:24 p.m.: The lineups are posted, and Shane Victorino will indeed get the start.

Victorino will start in center field rather than right field, though, as Jacoby Ellsbury is getting the night off. Victorino will bat leadoff in Ellsbury’s absence.

The complete lineups are below.

Red Sox (37-25)
Shane Victorino, CF
Jonny Gomes, LF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Napoli, 1B
Daniel Nava, RF
David Ross, C
Stephen Drew, SS
Jose Iglesias, 3B

Clay Buchholz, RHP (8-0, 1.62 ERA)

Angels (27-34)
Mike Trout, CF
Josh Hamilton, RF
Albert Pujols, DH
Mark Trumbo, 1B
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Brad Hawpe, LF
Albert Callaspo, 3B
Hank Conger, C
Erick Aybar, SS

C.J. Wilson, LHP (2-2, 4.19 ERA)

6:15 p.m.: The Red Sox didn’t get off on the right foot in their day-night doubleheader against the Angels.

The Sox dropped Game 1 of the twin bill, 9-5, behind a shaky performance from the bullpen. Felix Doubront wasn’t too bad in his start, allowing three runs over six innings, but Franklin Morales was charged with four runs as the Angels blew the game open in the seventh inning.

If you’re looking for positives from Game 1, you can start with Mike Carp, who went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs. Daniel Nava (3-for-5) and Jose Iglesias (2-for-4 plus a walk) each had a good game, too.

The Red Sox actually swung the bats well, but they just couldn’t cash in on their scoring chances. They can, however, take some solace in the fact that they started to put everything together in the ninth inning, scoring three runs and showing some fight that they hope will carry over into the nightcap.

Shane Victorino will return to Boston’s lineup, as it was announced between games that he has been activated off the 15-day disabled list. Jackie Bradley Jr. has been optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket.

Clay Buchholz and C.J. Wilson will toe the rubber.

Click here to read the Game 1 live blog >>

Final, Angels 9-5:

The Red Sox strung together five straight hits with two down. Mike Napoli, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Mike Carp connected on three straight singles, resulting in Boston’s third run. Stephen Drew then doubled off the wall in left-center field to bring home two more.

After Jose Iglesias singled to put the potential tying run in the on-deck circle, the Angels turned to their closer, Ernesto Frieri. Frieri ended the game by striking out Jacoby Ellsbury.

The Red Sox’ ninth-inning rally didn’t mean much, but perhaps it’ll give the club some momentum going into the night cap of Saturday’s day-night doubleheader.

Felix Doubront allowed three runs on six hits over six innings. The Red Sox’ bullpen then struggled from there. Franklin Morales was charged with four earned runs as the Angels broke the game open in the seventh inning.

The second game of the doubleheader is scheduled to kick off at 7:15 p.m.

Mid 9th, Angels 9-2: The Red Sox’ bullpen simply doesn’t have it in this game. The Angels added two runs to their total in the ninth inning.

Howie Kendrick and Alberto Callaspo started the ninth with back-to-back singles into left field. Chris Iannetta then popped out, and John Farrell turned to left-hander Andrew Miller.

Miller was erratic. He walked Erick Aybar to load the bases, and he issued a two-out walk to Mike Trout to give Los Angeles its eighth run.

Prior to Trout’s walk, the Red Sox had an opportunity for an inning-ending double play. J.B. Shuck grounded to Mike Napoli, and the first baseman immediately threw home. His toss was off the mark, though, and Boston could only record one out.

Napoli then had another mishap after Trout’s walk. Josh Hamilton grounded to first base and the ball slipped past Napoli, allowing Hamilton to reach and Aybar to score.

Garrett Richards will come back out to pitch the ninth inning with a seven-run lead.

End 8th, Angels 7-2: The Red Sox have put at least one runner on base in seven of their eight at-bats, yet they still have just two runs to show for it.

Boston threatened and came up empty again in the eighth inning.

Garrett Richards took over, and he got two quick outs before running into trouble. Mike Carp grounded out and Stephen Drew struck out.

Jose Iglesias then singled, breaking up a string of seven straight retired by Angels pitchers. It also continued Iglesias’ torrid streak, as he’s really developed into an on-base machine.

Jacoby Ellsbury reached on a catcher interference call. Ellsbury’s bat hit Chris Iannetta’s mitt on his swing, and the outfielder was thus given first base while Iglesias shifted up to second. As is the case with catcher interference calls, Iannetta was assessed an error.

Daniel Nava couldn’t cash in on the scoring chance, though. He grounded out to end the inning.

Mid 8th, Angels 7-2: Mike Trout is really showcasing his skills.

Trout hammered a single into right field to lead off the eighth inning, and that gives him three hits in the contest.

Fortunately for the Red Sox, Clayton Mortensen settled down after the leadoff hit. He retired the next three hitters in order to keep the deficit at five runs.

Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols each grounded out, and Mark Trumbo flied out to left field.

End 7th, Angels 7-2: The Red Sox need to get to work if they plan on coming back in this one. After another scoreless inning in the seventh, they’re six outs away from dropping Game 1 of the day-night doubleheader.

David Ortiz, Mike Napoli and Jarrod Saltalamacchia were retired in order in the seventh.

Ortiz and Napoli each flied out, while Saltalamacchia struck out swinging against Scott Downs. Salty whiffed on a nasty slider in the dirt, and catcher Chris Iannetta tossed down to first base to complete the inning-ending out.

Mid 7th, Angels 7-2: Clayton Mortensen needed to play a little damage control with the bases juiced, and he escaped the inning after giving up one more run.

Erick Aybar struck a ground ball back up the middle. Dustin Pedroia made a nice diving play while ranging to his right, but by the time he sprung to his feet and fired to first, Aybar was aboard safely. That allowed Howie Kendrick to score L.A.’s seventh run.

J.B. Shuck flied out to center field to end the inning.

3:47 p.m., Angels 6-2: Franklin Morales was very shaky, and he won’t make it through the seventh inning.

After J.B. Shuck grounded out to first base, Mike Trout smoked a ball off the Green Monster for a double. It’s the second dent that Trout has put into the left field wall in this game, as he also doubled back in the third inning.

Josh Hamilton flied out for out No. 2, but the third out proved to be elusive.

Morales intentionally walked Albert Pujols with first base open, and Mark Trumbo went right down the right field line for a double. Trout crossed the plate with Los Angeles’ fourth run while Pujols stopped at third base.

Morales then struggled mightily with his control. He issued three straight walks, resulting in two more runs. John Farrell decided at that point that he’s seen enough, and Clayton Mortensen will take over.

End 6th, Angels 3-2: The Red Sox have knocked on the door in every inning, but only once have they been let in.

The Sox put two runners on in the sixth inning before Michael Kohn put an abrupt stop to the threat via a 6-4-3 double play.

Jose Iglesias, who has been extremely patient during his big league stints this year, walked to lead off the inning. He then showed some hustle in sliding hardly into second base to break up a potential double play.

Following Jacoby Ellsbury’s forceout, Daniel Nava singled over Howie Kendrick’s head and into right field. That set up runners at first and second with one out, but Dustin Pedroia grounded into a double play.

Pedroia made solid contact — as the ball exploded on Erick Aybar at short — but it was an easy twin killing to end the inning.

Franklin Morales will take over for Boston in the seventh.

Mid 6th, Angels 3-2: The Angels’ fourth run was 90 feet away, but it never crossed the plate.

Alberto Callaspo lined a one-out double down into the left field corner, and he moved up to third base when Chris Iannetta flied out to right field.

Felix Doubront buckled down with two outs, getting Erick Aybar to ground out harmlessly to first base.

Michael Kohn will enter the game and pitch the sixth inning for the Angels.

End 5th, Angels 3-2: Tommy Hanson will exit with a lead, but it was a battle all afternoon.

Hanson, despite giving up just two runs, labored through all five innings, including the fifth inning. He’ll leave on a positive note, though, as he kept the Red Sox’ offense in check in the fifth.

Mike Napoli flied out to center field and Jarrod Saltalamacchia grounded out to first base. Mike Carp, who homered in the fourth inning, then tried to get a little something going with a single into right field.

Hanson, who featured a ton of offspeed pitches in the fifth, struck out Stephen Drew with a curveball to end the inning.

Hanson is up to 114 pitches, which is why I assume his day is done.

Mid 5th, Angels 3-2: Felix Doubront had a very up-and-down inning.

J.B. Shuck walked on five pitches, but Doubront then struck out both Mike Trout and Josh Hamilton. Trout fanned on a fastball from Doubront, while Hamilton went down waving at a changeup.

Albert Pujols then drilled a ball into left field. He took a wide turn around first base before throwing on the brakes, and Shuck scampered over to third base.

Doubront avoided any damage by getting Mark Trumbo to ground out to second base. We’ll now see if the Red Sox’ offense can build on its solid fourth inning.

End 4th, Angels 3-2: The Red Sox finally broke through against Tommy Hanson.

The Sox failed to capitalize on a few scoring chances in the first three innings, but Mike Carp didn’t wait around in the fourth. Hanson jumped ahead in the count 0-2, but Carp drove a 1-2 fastball over the bullpens in right field to put the Red Sox on the scoreboard.

Hanson got both Stephen Drew and Jose Iglesias to pop out, but Jacoby Ellsbury kicked off a two-out rally with a walk.

Ellsbury stole second base easily, and he scored when Daniel Nava delivered a base hit into right field. Josh Hamilton charged in to field Nava’s hit, but it scooted past him. It looked as if Hamilton was thinking about throwing to the plate before corralling the hit cleanly.

Nava advanced to third base when Hanson tossed a pitch in the dirt, but David Ortiz failed to knock him in. Ortiz grounded into the shift to end the inning.

Hanson tossed 31 pitches in the lengthy fourth inning. He’s thrown 91 overall.

Mid 4th, Angels 3-0: Felix Doubront enjoyed a very quick inning in the fourth.

Alberto Callaspo flied out into right-center field for the first out. Chris Iannetta then struck out swinging on a changeup in the dirt, and Erick Aybar lined out to Jose Iglesias at third base to end the inning.

Doubront has thrown 65 pitches (43 strikes) thus far.

End 3rd, Angels 3-0: It’s been a frustrating game for the Red Sox thus far. They keep making some noise, but they have nothing to show for it.

Daniel Nava, who is really having a special season, kicked off Boston’s third-inning threat with a single into center field. Dustin Pedroia built on the threat by grounding a base hit back up the middle.

Tommy Hanson settled down from there, though. He retired the next three hitters to keep the shutout intact.

David Ortiz and Mike Napoli struck out, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia popped out in the infield. Ortiz went down swinging on a curveball down and out of the zone — as he did back in the first inning — and Napoli went down looking at a deuce.

Mid 3rd, Angels 3-0: The Angels built a threat, and they then benefited from two very productive outs to increase their lead to 3-0.

Mike Trout started the inning by going high off the wall in left. It was fielded cleanly off the bounce, but Trout, who has great speed, was able to slide in safely at second base.

Josh Hamilton, who has had a difficult year to date, then walked, setting up runners at first and second with no outs for the always dangerous Albert Pujols.

Trout and Hamilton each moved up a base via a double steal. It was an aggressive play put on by manager Mike Scioscia, but both Trout and Hamilton run well, so why not?

Pujols ended up driving in Los Angeles’ second run with a sac fly to center. The Angels’ third run came across when Mark Trumbo struck a ground ball to short. Stephen Drew knocked down Trumbo’s ground ball on a diving attempt and Dustin Pedroia threw to first to complete the out, but Hamilton crossed the plate to extend the lead.

End 2nd, Angels 1-0:  The Red Sox threatened for the second straight inning, but they again came up empty-handed.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Stephen Drew each worked a walk against Tommy Hanson to put runners at first and second with one out.

Prior to Drew’s walk, Mike Carp gave one a ride to center field. Off the bat, it looked like it had a chance to get out of the yard, but Mike Trout ended up making the grab up against the wall.

Saltalamacchia took third when when Jose Iglesias flied out to Josh Hamilton in right-center field, but the inning ended when Jacoby Ellsbury grounded out to second base.

Mid 2nd, Angels 1-0: Felix Doubront’s big issue this season has been putting hitters away and putting innings away. The Angels struck for a two-out RBI in the second inning.

Howie Kendrick, who has been on fire of late, led off the inning with a single into left field. He moved up to second base when Mike Napoli couldn’t quite handle a ground ball from Alberto Callaspo cleanly. Napoli took care of the out at first base, but the ball hit the palm of his glove and bounced off, so he was unable to start up a double play.

Chris Iannetta then grounded to third base, where Jose Iglesias made the play before flipping over to first base for the second out.

Erick Aybar put the Angels on the scoreboard with a single into left field. Mike Carp came up firing to the plate, but his throw wasn’t in time. Aybar took second on the toss, but he didn’t end up crossing the plate in the frame, as J.B. Shuck struck out to end the inning.

End 1st, 0-0: The Red Sox threatened in the first inning. They couldn’t push across a run, though.

Jacoby Ellsbury, who had four hits in his first game back on Thursday, started off the doubleheader on a positive note. He lined a base hit into right field, and he then stole second base. The steal was his 22nd of the season, moving him into a tie atop the American League.

But while Ellsbury’s steal made life a little bit more difficult for Tommy Hanson, it didn’t prove to be too problematic.

Daniel Nava grounded to third base, and Ellsbury got caught up in no man’s land. He was eventually tagged out for the first out of the inning as Nava reached at first.

Dustin Pedroia then added to the threat by drilling a double off the Green Monster scoreboard in left field. It was hit hard, but Nava only advanced to third base, and the Red Sox came up empty from there.

David Ortiz struck out swinging on a good-looking curveball down and in, and Mike Napoli grounded out to third base.

Mid 1st, 0-0: It’s been a tough year for Josh Hamilton, but he beat the shift for a double in the first inning.

Mike Trout kicked off the ballgame by grounding out to short. Hamilton then doubled into right field, although the Angels didn’t do much with the opportunity.

Albert Pujols made solid contact, but he drilled a line drive right at Mike Napoli, who took care of business for out No. 2.

Mark Trumbo then grounded out to short to end the inning.

1:06 p.m.: Felix Doubront’s first pitch is a strike, and we’re underway.

12:45 p.m.: Since it’s a doubleheader, we might as well bust out the fun facts.

When playing two games on one day, the Red Sox all-time have swept 495, split 831 and have been swept 445 times. In that time, 23 times one of the games ended in a tie.

12:36 p.m.: The important thing is that the Red Sox are in first place. But a true indication of their roll is that they’re a season-high tying 13 games above .500. They haven’t been 14 games above .500 since the conclusion of the 2011 season, which they finished with a 90-72 record.

12:24 p.m.: Some good news came out of the Red Sox clubhouse on Saturday. Shane Victorino is expected to be activated before Game 2 of the doubleheader. No roster move has been announced, but Victorino will be a nice addition to the top of the Red Sox’ order.

Will Middlebrooks, meanwhile, is continuing his rehab with the PawSox. John Farrell is encouraged by his progress, though.

11:55 a.m.: The lineup card is posted. Have a looksie.

Red Sox (37-24)
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Daniel Nava, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Napoli, 1B
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Mike Carp, LF
Stephen Drew, SS
Jose Iglesias, 3B

Felix Doubront, LHP (4-2, 4.88 ERA)

Angels (26-34)
Mike Trout, CF
Josh Hamilton, RF
Albert Pujols, DH
Mark Trumbo, 1B
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Alberto Callaspo, 3B
Chris Iannetta, C
Erick Aybar, SS
J.B. Shuck, LF

Tommy Hanson (2-2, 4.19 ERA)

8 a.m. ET: It’s a great — well, better, at least — day. Let’s play two.

Mother Nature restricted us from playing baseball on Friday, but she won’t win Saturday’s battle. We’ve got two games on tap as part of a day-night doubleheader, and it starts with a matinee showdown.

Felix Doubront and Tommy Hanson will square off as the Red Sox and Angels kick off a three-game weekend set. The Sox are certainly hoping that this doubleheader goes a lot smoother than their first of the year. They lost both games of a day-night twin slate back on April 21.

Doubront enters the contest on the heels of a solid performance against the Yankees last Saturday. He went six innings and allowed just one run in that contest, and the left-hander is suddenly trending in the right direction after an up-and-down start to the year.

The first game of Saturday’s doubleheader will kick off at 1:05 p.m., while the second clash will commence at 7:10 p.m. Keep it right here with NESN.com for both games. We’ll have you covered every step of the way.

However, the Halos (26-34) enter this weekend’s three-game set at Fenway Park as the AL’s most disappointing team — at least south of the Canadian border. Now L.A. is 12-1 to win the pennant, compared to Boston’s 7-1.

The addition of former AL MVP Josh Hamilton, on a five-year, $125 million deal, was supposed to give Los Angeles the majors’ best lineup along with 2012 AL Rookie of the Year Mike Trout and three-time NL MVP Albert Pujols. Only Trout has played well among the trio, and even that has been a bit of a step back from his historic rookie year. Hamilton has been one of the worst regulars in the AL with a .216 average and 62 strikeouts. He hasn’t homered since May 26.

Pujols has been a bit better than Hamilton, batting .243 with nine homers and 35 RBIs, but he is battling through foot and knee pain that may necessitate a trip to the disabled list at some point. The two Angels really hitting are Howie Kendrick (.317, eight home runs, 32 RBIs) and Trout (.293/10/38) after a slow start. Mark Trumbo leads the team with 15 homers and 40 RBIs.

The Angels had to replace three starting pitchers this offseason, and that rotation remains a question mark, although it has been a bit better of late. New addition Joe Blanton has struggled. Ace Jered Weaver has mostly been good, but he has been limited to four starts due to injury. He’s not expected to pitch in this series, although Sunday would be his scheduled day. The Angels are expected to give him extra rest with Thursday’s day off.

Boston will be approximately a -155 favorite for this series. The Angels have lost five of their past six games against two of the worst clubs in the majors, the Astros and Cubs.

The Halos are scheduled to start Tommy Hanson on Friday (2-2, 4.19). He returned from a nearly month-long DL stint by allowing five runs and eight hits over 6 1/3 innings in a loss to Houston on May 31. Hanson has faced Boston once, back in 2009. Stephen Drew has four hits in 11 at-bats with a homer off the former Brave.

On Saturday, L.A. starts lefty C.J. Wilson (4-4, 3.93). He has allowed more than three earned runs in just two starts all season and held the Astros to three runs in 7 1/3 innings last time out. The Angels have won only one of his past six starts. Wilson is 5-1 with a 2.62 ERA in his career against Boston. A Dustin Pedroia hitting prop may be a wise bet against Wilson, as Pedroia is hitting a team-high .467 with a homer and five RBIs in his career against him.

Blanton (1-9, 5.53) is scheduled to start Sunday. He leads the AL in losses but has had three straight quality starts to save his rotation spot. Consider MLB props on David Ortiz homering in this one, as Big Papi is hitting .345 with three homers in 29 at-bats against Blanton.

Both managers have received calls of support from upper management, which is never a good thing. The Dodgers are easily the biggest disappointment in the National League with a team-record payroll of about $216 million, but last in the NL West. You can’t blame that big trade with the Red Sox, as both Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford have been playing well this year. Josh Beckett hasn’t been good, is hurt and could retire, but overall the Dodgers feel good about the trade.

Mattingly is the 5-4 favorite to be the first manager fired. He already has called out his team publicly, and the former Yankees star doesn’t have a contract after this season.

Scioscia is the longest-tenured manager in baseball and has a contract that runs through 2018, but Angels owner Arte Moreno has shown money is no object after signing Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton the past two offseasons — and both former MVPs have struggled this year. Scioscia is a two-time AL Manager of the Year and led the Halos to the 2002 World Series title, but they haven’t been back since and appear set to miss the postseason for the fourth straight year. The irony is that if Scioscia is fired, he’d probably be at the top of the Dodgers’ wish list, as he was a longtime catcher for the team. Scioscia is 7-1 to get the axe before any other manager.

The second favorite to be the first fired is Milwaukee’s Ron Roenicke at 5-1. The Brewers were contending for the NL Central lead to start May, but went 6-22 in the month, tying a club record for futility. The team already has tried several roster moves, to no avail.

Seattle’s Eric Wedge and Toronto’s John Gibbons are both at 7-1 with Scioscia. Wedge only had three seasons with at least a .500 record in seven years with Cleveland — he was the 2007 AL Manager of the Year — and the Mariners haven’t sniffed the break-even mark in his three seasons there. The M’s thought they would at least contend for a wild card spot this year.

Gibbons was hired by the Blue Jays after they traded John Farrell to Boston. Toronto didn’t make the playoffs in Gibbons’ first stint from 2004-08, and the preseason World Series favorites don’t appear likely to do so this year either. The Jays are the most disappointing AL team east of Anaheim. Toronto is now 15-1 to win the AL East, with Boston the new 2-1 favorite after taking two of three from the Yankees (13-4) over the weekend.

The rest of the candidates are the Phillies’ Charlie Manuel (10-1), the Royals’ Ned Yost (12-1), the Mets’ Terry Collins (12-1), the Twins’ Ron Gardenhire (15-1), the Yankees’ Joe Girardi (15-1) and the Padres’ Bud Black (15-1). Girardi’s Yankees are the only team with a winning record on that list.

This post is presented by Bovada.

During the Halos-Astros game on Monday, Houston’s J.D. Martinez fouled a ball off, letting the bat slip from his hands and soar through the air to the left side. It didn’t injure any fans, but it certainly came close, thanks to one man who will likely never hear the end of it.

As the bat hurtled toward a middle-aged couple, the man bailed out of his seat and headed for safety, leaving his wife in the path of the flying lumber.

Check it out below.

Crawford made a catch sliding into the left-field wall after Los Angeles Angels third baseman Alberto Callaspo pulled one down the line into foul territory. Crawford came up limping after the hard crash and seemed to be favoring his elbow and wrist.

“That wall don’t give,” Crawford said after the game to the Los Angeles Times.

The crash had to be a concerning sight for manager Don Mattingly, who just recently added outfielder Matt Kemp to the 15-day disabled list due to a strained hamstring.

Crawford told the media after the game that no injury resulted from the catch, just that he was a little sore afterward.

“Pretty much my whole body,” he said of where he was hurting. “I mean, something like that it’s not just one spot. You run into a wall, so you’re pretty much going to have aches and pains all over.”

The 31-year-old outfielder missed most of the 2012 season after undergoing wrist and elbow surgery, but he has been a pleasant surprise for Dodgers faithful this year as Kemp and right-fielder Andre Ethier have gotten off to slow starts. Crawford is hitting .293 on the season and leads the team in runs scored with 31.

Even though the struggling Dodgers went home with a 3-2 loss to the Angels on Thursday, the play of the former Gold Glove winner so far has to be encouraging.

Check out Crawford’s spectacular grab in the video below.

Throughout the years, there have been many idiotic sports fans who want to make going to a live event all about them. These are the people who think they’re amusing, but are really just making tens of thousands of people wait for them and their stupid antics.

So, without necessarily condoning his actions, at least one Royals fan had a plan to spice up his on-the-field jaunt.

During Thursday night’s Angels-Royals game, one Kansas City supporter ran onto the field during the eighth inning with the Royals at bat. Not only did this fan manage to initially elude police (causing one to wipe out near the mound), but he stole the rosin bag off the mound while in the act. Suffice to say he probably didn’t get to keep that souvenir, but hey, maybe his hands were really, really slippery.

Check out this fan’s on-field antics in the video below.

The Angels outfielder nabbed Rookie of the Year honors last season and just about took the MVP award, too, and he’s kept up the impressive play this year. With a .293 average, 34 RBIs and nine home runs already this season, Trout doesn’t leave much to argue with when it comes to conventional statistics, so it’s about time he started chipping away at some of the quirkier feats in the game.

Trout did just that Tuesday night, hitting for the cycle — and leaving the four-bagger to the end. Trout went into his eighth-inning at-bat having already struck out (first inning) singled (third), tripled (fourth) and doubled (sixth). With the home crowd watching and waiting for the final hit, Trout came through, hitting a home run to become the youngest American League player to hit for the cycle at 21 years, nine months and 16 days old.

Check out Trout’s big night in the video below.

On Wednesday, Angel Hernandez and the crew of the Athletics-Indians series made one of the worst judgment calls (even after viewing replay) you’ll ever see, turning an Adam Rosales home run into a double. However, judgement calls are one thing, but not knowing a basic rule about pitcher substitutions is something else.

That’s what happened during Thursday night’s Angels-Astros matchup in Houston. Astros manager Bo Porter brought in reliever Wesley Wright to pitch to J.B. Shuck with two outs in the top of the seventh, with Angels manager Mike Scioscia countering by pinch hitting Luis Jimenez. However, once Wright had completed his warmup tosses, Porter went back to the mound and called in Hector Ambriz from the bullpen — without Wright having ever thrown an official pitch.

In MLB’s official rulebook, rule 3.05 (b) states, “If the pitcher is replaced, the substitute pitcher shall pitch to the batter then at bat, or any substitute batter, until such a batter is put out or reaches first base, or until the offensive team is put out, unless the substitute pitcher sustains injury or illness.”

Basically, what the rule says is that a pitcher has to throw to at least one hitter (or until the end of the inning, if it’s reached via pickoff, for instance) once he’s officially in the game. Rule 3.05 (c) clarifies that if any illegal pitching substitution is allowed (such as removing a pitcher before he’s pitched to a batter), then all resulting play is illegal.

After the second pitching change, Scioscia came out to vigorously argue, but, even after the umpiring crew huddled up three different times, the pitching change was still allowed. The Angels subsequently played the rest of the game under protest and likely would have won their appeal. However, down 5-3 at the time, Los Angeles came back to win the game 6-5, thus negating the protest.

After the game, the umpires referred all questions to the league office, while Scioscia simply reaffirmed that he was protesting the second pitching change. Porter, for his part, also doesn’t seem to know the rules of baseball, as after the game he said he believes that, after a pinch hitter comes out, he’s allowed to make another pitching change.

Check out all the craziness in the video below.

In a sport where turnstile swag sometimes draws more fans than the on-field action does, the Angels may have baseball’s best giveaway of all-time coming up next month. The Halos are preparing to hand out Mike Trout fish hats to fans on June 18 when they host the Mariners, as pointed out by Yahoo! Sports.

The hats are trucker style, with an autographed lid, a No. 27 on the side and a fish coming out of the front of it. In other words, it’s awesome.

Check out some photos of the lid below.

Photo via LATimes.com

Photo via Angels.MLB.com

Conger showed his graceful nature in the bottom of the eighth inning of Saturday’s game. The Orioles were playing a shift defensively, and Conger dropped a bunt toward third base. On his way to first base, Conger was tripped up by an invisible dirt monster, did a forward tumble and still made it to first base safely.

Check out the play in the GIF below.

Photo via MLBGifs

Thumbnail photo via Facebook/Hank Conger

At 9-16, this is a team that has massively underperformed expectations, and is already seven games back of the Western Division-leading Texas Rangers. And Monday night was easily the season’s low point, with the team losing a 19-inning marathon to the Oakland Athletics on a walkoff home run by Brandon Moss, with the game ending at about 1:37 a.m. local time. And that’s not even mentioning that the Angels led 6-2 in the eighth inning, or that the team lost center fielder Peter Bourjos (its only .300 hitter) to the disabled list after the game.

That’s a bitter, bitter pill to swallow if you’re a desperate team trying to turn things around.

The good thing for the Angels is that this is probably about as bad as it gets from here on out. It’s been oft noted that the team got off to a very similarly slow start last season, before becoming one of baseball’s best teams from May through the end of the season. Likewise, based on the way the Angels have performed so far this year, the team is setting itself up for a repeat of last season’s arc — likely with the same playoff-less end.

The reason the Angels have to be better is twofold: injuries and underperformance. The fact that the team lost ace Jered Weaver two starts into the season with a freak broken arm cannot be understated. The way the team’s rotation is built, the Angels were always known to be heavily relying on Weaver and No. 2 starter C.J. Wilson to lead it. Behind them, the rotation was designed to be solid but unspectacular, with three pitchers — Tommy Hanson, Joe Blanton and Jason Vargas — who would eat innings and rely on a prolific offense to get wins.

With Weaver out of the mix, however, the rotation’s lack of upside is being thoroughly exposed, with a 5.09 ERA, good for 25th in baseball. Moreover, the Angels’ starting pitching looks even worse considering how the offense has performed.

Looking at the lineup is an easy way to figure that the Angels basically have to be better from here on out. In short, the vaunted trio of Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton hasn’t lived up to its billing, with OPS figures of .755, .709 and .590, respectively. It doesn’t take a sabermetrician to figure out that those three will be better than that, and will raise those numbers significantly by the end of the season given their track records.

This all being said, no matter how the team performs for the rest of the season, it may be irrelevant to their playoff hopes. The AL West is a tough, if not deep division. Both the Texas Rangers and A’s are solid, fundamentally sound teams with playoff expectations. So, as good as those two squads are, it’s difficult to see the Angels being five and seven games better, respectively, than them for the rest of the year. Like 2012, the Angels may well again prove that Game 1 is indeed as important as Game 162.

By the same token, the grousing has already begun in Los Angeles (of Anaheim). A large section of the fan base wants manager Mike Scioscia fired — which would be a huge, unmitigated mistake — a clearing of the front office, field staff and clubhouse. Which, of course, is completely unrealistic and reactionary.

Rather, the Angels are a victim of injury and random variance — nothing more. In short, it is an absolute fluke that a team with this much front-end talent has performed so poorly, as the numbers of Trout, Pujols and Hamilton will undoubtedly show by season’s end.

That isn’t to say, however, that the Angels don’t have fundamental problems with their roster. The bullpen, in particular, which blew an MLB-leading 22 saves in 2013 is again showing just how porous it is. But, at the same time, it’s the middle relief that’s the problem, not necessarily the back end. Ernesto Frieri, Scott Downs and Sean Burnett (another injury victim) have been solid in the late innings. However, the Angels’ lack of bullpen depth has been exposed by Ryan Madson‘s injury and the starting pitching’s inability to go deep into games.

It should be a wakeup call to the organization just where its problems are that, just this last Sunday, Vargas became the first Angels starter to record an out in the seventh inning.

So, once again, the old adage is proved true: Good pitching beats good hitting every day of the week, and solid pitching is the cornerstone of a successful franchise. The Angels will, without a doubt, eventually feature the prolific offense that was promised this offseason. But will it be enough to overcome a questionable rotation and already-sizable deficits to Oakland and Texas?

Probably not.

Hamilton and his new team, the Angels, went to Oakland on Monday for a three-game set, and the A’s used the occasion to honor the player who has found a special place in their hearts. As a member of the Texas Rangers, Hamilton blew a catch in the final game of last year’s season to help Oakland clinch the American League West.

A’s fans showed their thankfulness Monday night, dubbing the evening “Josh Hamilton Appreciation Night” and bringing some Butterfingers to commemorate Hamilton’s feat.

Hamilton, who is batting just .219 this year with two home runs and eight RBIs in 24 games, played along and used the Butterfingers as a nice before-game snack.

OAK fans held Josh Hamilton Appreciation Day, booed LAA players, cheered Josh+threw him Butterfinger candy bars in RF http://t.co/1orUiW0DBh

—
  (@TexRangersFan34) April 30, 2013

Perhaps Hamilton should have passed on the candy. He ended up going 0-for-8 in the 19-inning game.

Check out the A’s fans in the video below.

On Monday (and Tuesday morning), Hamilton was flailing, going 0-for-8 in the Angels’ 19-inning loss to the Oakland Athletics. However, Hamilton was also signing autographs during the game, apparently, and doing a little proselytizing, too.

Hamilton tossed the ball in the image below to a fan in the right field bleachers, and apparently the $125 million man has a lot to say. In addition to messages that “Jesus loves you, love him!” and “We come to Christ as we are & he is responsible for cleaning us up!” Hamilton imagines himself a stylist, too. “Your hair is awesome,” reads the other side of the ball.

For the record, we have no idea what the fan’s hair actually looked like. Check out Hamilton’s autograph in the Instagram image below.

Photo via Instagram/nickbatters

Scioscia is baseball’s longest-tenured manager and is signed through 2018, but after the Angels signed Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton to huge, multiyear deals over the past two offseasons, the pressure is on to win now.

However, the man Scioscia succeeded to become the longest-employed manager in MLB says he’s not interested in the Angels job should it become available.

According to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, “industry speculation” for a potential Angels managerial opening has focused on former Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. But La Russa, who has a very good relationship with Pujols from their days in St. Louis, not only says he wouldn’t take the Angels job, but flatly won’t ever be returning to the dugout.

“I’m not going to manage again,” La Russa said on Wednesday. “I’m going to work for a team someday. But it won’t be managing.”

Coincidentally, La Russa had planned to attend this weekend’s series in Anaheim between the Angels and Tigers. However, he says he considered staying home so as to not cause any undue speculation.

“My plan is to be there [in Anaheim] because of Jim [Leyland] and Dave [Dombrowski] with the Tigers and because of Albert,” La Russa said. “I hesitate because of my respect for [Scioscia].

“The truth is, there is and cannot be anything to this. It bothers me that I’m hesitating to [attend the series].”

Weaver, who was diagnosed with a non-displaced radial head fracture, is expected to miss at least four weeks. The right-hander left Sunday’s loss against the Texas Rangers in the sixth inning after jamming his non-throwing arm while dodging a line drive. Prior to confirmation, he said to have suffered a strained elbow.

The Angels called up right-hander Dane De La Rosa from Triple-A Salt Lake to replace Weaver on the roster. De La Rosa was acquired in a trade last month from Tampa Bay in exchange for right-hander Steven Geltz.

See Weaver’s injury in the video below.

The All-Star slugger said Saturday that security guards stayed near his wife, Katie, and their children, and there weren’t any major incidents during Friday’s game.

“She ended up calling security just because people are being ugly,” said Hamilton, who was 0 for 4 in the Angels’ 3-2 loss. “Not necessarily the booing and stuff, but inappropriate with kids around — and that was before the game even started.”

Rangers spokesman John Blake says the Angels had requested extra security near the Hamiltons, and there were no ejections after Katie Hamilton asked for help.

Hamilton said his family “absolutely” planned to attend the remaining two games, and Blake said they would be more isolated in a suite. Blake said a suite wasn’t available for the Rangers’ sold-out home opener.

Major League Baseball suspended Hamilton for more than three years for drug and alcohol use while he was in the Tampa Bay organization. He also had a couple of relapses with the Rangers.

The 2010 AL MVP said he heard plenty of insults from the stands Friday, including “crackhead” references like he used to get at Yankee Stadium in his first season with the Rangers five years ago.

“It’s cool to get ragged on about normal things,” Hamilton said. “But when you get a little swearing and jawing back at Katie and saying inappropriate things, it’s a little different story.”

Hamilton had a rough return on the field, striking out in his first two at-bats — which drew standing ovations — and just missing on a throw from right field that could have kept the game tied in the eighth inning.

But he had a good time Friday night at the suburban Dallas home he plans to keep, and said his four daughters were unaffected by the day’s events.

“They kissed me and hugged me and said, `Good game,’” Hamilton said. “They went on about playing with their little friends they had over. I went out and jumped on the trampoline with them. So it was like any other game coming home.”

Josh Hamilton

Shortly after Hamilton signed with the Angels, he angered much of Texas by calling Dallas “a football town,” saying fans were “spoiled” and that, while some people were “true baseball fans,” the area would never be known for the sport.

Despite saying he doesn’t read news stories about himself, Hamilton seems to have found out that those may not have been the best words. That theory will likely be reinforced Friday when the Angels visit Arlington for the first time this year.

“This whole football town thing has been an absolute nightmare,” Hamilton said Friday, according to CBSSports.com. “I’m glad I don’t read [the newspaper and Internet].”

The Angels failed to make it to the postseason last year despite signing Albert Pujols, but the Rangers didn’t do much better, falling in the wild card play-in. Hamilton was 0-for-4 in that game and then went to L.A. in the offseason.

Last season saw one of the tightest and most debated MVP races in recent history, with baseball enthusiasts going toe-to-toe over whether Mike Trout or Miguel Cabrera deserved the honor in the America League. Cabrera, who ultimately won the award, had the benefit of baseball’s first Triple Crown since 1967, but many considered Trout to be more valuable for a number of reasons, including how he looked from a sabermetric standpoint.

Trout and Cabrera are the front-runners to compete for the award again this season, but who will join them? Robinson Cano? Jose Bautista? Albert Pujols?

There are a number of names being tossed around, and that’s usually the case. Each season, we’re presented with the opportunity to make award predictions, only to then realize we have no idea what’s going to happen until the games start up for real. But hey, that’s the best part. Who doesn’t like to be wrong?

In any event, I’ve taken a stab at this year’s awards. Some picks were more difficult to make than others, and I’ll likely be kicking myself at the end of the year, but here goes nothing.

Click here to see the 2013 MLB awards predictions >>

Have a question for Ricky Doyle? Send it to him via Twitter at @TheRickyDoyle or send it here.

Stephen Strasburg photo (left) via Facebook/Washington Nationals from B/R

Joey Votto photo (right) via Facebook/Cincinnati Reds from B/R