Boston has assured itself of at least a split on the 10-game road trip. It is now 6-0 against the Angels this year and can pick up the sweep Wednesday afternoon when Josh Beckett opposes Joel Pineiro.
Mid 9th, Red Sox 4-2: Insurance comes in many forms. For the Red Sox, it arrives with the help of an Angels throwing error. There was a chance for more but Adrian Beltre flies out with the bases loaded.
The Sox have left 11 on base.
End 8th, Red Sox 3-2: Daniel Bard has been virtually automatic of late, but it seems as if every outing he has about four or five pitches that miss by several feet. He walks Hideki Matsui on four pitches but gets the Sox out of the eighth with the lead.
Bard does have four walks in his last 6 1/3 innings. Not an eye-popping slump or anything, just worth noting. He did not issue a free pass in his previous 10 outings prior to the "wild" stretch.
Jonathan Papelbon was up and warming in the Boston bullpen.
12:39 a.m.: John Lackey has allowed just four earned runs in 22 1/3 innings since the All-Star break, but he is likely steaming after Bobby Abreu takes him deep in the eighth. It's Lackey's last batter of the game. Daniel Bard is on with one out.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 3-1: Nothing like the sight of David Ortiz racing from first to home on a double into the gap. Like Carl Lewis in Los Angeles in the summer of '84 or Secretariat at the Belmont in '73, it's a study in speed, style and grace. And it also gives the Sox a crucial run in the eighth.
Adrian Beltre had the double, his 29th of the season. Mike Cameron later had a bid for his fourth home run taken away by Torii Hunter. We will see how important that play becomes if the Angels are able to rally.
End 7th, Red Sox 2-1: Quite a night for John Lackey in his return to Anaheim. He remains in line for his 10th win of the season after getting through the seventh without any major issues. Lackey's pitch count is 112. Leave him in, Tito.
Kevin Jepsen has taken over for Jered Weaver.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 2-1: Jed Lowrie was originally batting seventh and Darnell McDonald was on the bench. When J.D. Drew was a late scratch things changed for both, and they have been the offensive stars in this one.
McDonald, who is 2-for-2, drew a two-out walk and moved to third on Marco Scutaro's single. Lowrie, batting in Drew's original spot, followed with his second double of the game over the head of left fielder Juan Rivera, who was inexplicably playing very shallow and got a bad break on the ball.
By far Lowrie's biggest contribution to the Sox in his short time back.
End 6th, Angels 1-0: When John Lackey is going well the ground balls come in bunches. He induces three straight to coast through the sixth and has 10 ground-ball outs overall.
Mid 6th, Angels 1-0: The Sox go down in order for the third time in the last four innings, and it went by in an instant. Jered Weaver, whose pitch count is at 86, has thrown just 45 pitches over the last four innings.
End 5th, Angels 1-0: John Lackey gets some love from the umpiring crew in the fifth. Alberto Callaspo appeared to be safe trying to stretch a single into a double but was called out. Lackey followed with his fourth strikeout and we head to the sixth in a tight one.
In case you hadn't heard, Mike Lowell had a special night for Pawtucket in his latest rehab game.
Mid 5th, Angels 1-0: A Darnell McDonald double leads things off and he moves to third on a long fly to center by Marco Scutaro. It gives the Red Sox another chance to break through against Jered Weaver, but again they blow it.
Jed Lowrie popped to shallow left and Kevin Youkilis grounded to short. Six left on base for the Sox so far.
End 4th, Angels 1-0: If you feel as if the Red Sox are always involved in close games, you would be right. They enter the night leading the American League in games decided by two runs or less with 53 (27-26). Looks like we're headed in that direction once again.
This recent stretch has offered up a host of nail-biters; eight of the club's last 10 games have been decided by either one or two runs.
That's what you get with quality starting pitching and a slumping offense.
John Lackey survived a single and a walk in the fourth.
Mid 4th, Angels 1-0: Yep, Jered Weaver is locked in. The Sox put five on against him in the first two innings but fail to score. They have been set down in order the last two, striking out five times in the process. Adrian Beltre, Jeremy Hermida and Mike Cameron each go down swinging in the fourth.
End 3rd, Angels 1-0: After Marco Scutaro cut down Juan Rivera at home plate for the second out of the inning it looked as if John Lackey would be OK. But a hit-and-run single put runners on the corners and Bobby Abreu followed with a double off the wall in right to plate the game's first run.
Rivera had led off the inning with a double to left that missed being a home by a few feet. Abreu's drive suffered the same fate. Lackey was hit pretty hard and should be pleased to give up just the one run.
Mike Scioscia had bunted Rivera to third before the Scutaro play. He also employed a hit-and-run ahead of the Abreu double. With Lackey and Jered Weaver on the mound the Angels skipper is just trying to get what he can when he can and it kept the pressure on Lackey in the third.
Mid 3rd, 0-0: The warning was issued after the top of the second inning: the Sox better not waste their opportunities to get to Jered Weaver. It seems as if they already have, if the way Weaver looked in the third is any indication. He strikes out Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz amid a 1-2-3 frame, all after working out of jams in the first two innings.
End 2nd, 0-0: We mentioned this when Jeremy Hermida took the place of Daniel Nava last week — the outfield defense just got worse. Some will recall a rough game in left for Nava on the last homestand, but he was pretty steady overall. Hermida, however, has struggled all year in the field.
Hermida commits a two-base error a bloop to left. He went into a slide and seemed to get caught between what to do on the ball, seeing it drop over his glove.
It is his fourth error in 47 games in the outfield. J.D. Drew, Mike Cameron and Darnell McDonald have combined for three, with all but Cameron playing more games out there.
Mid 2nd, 0-0: When you get your chances against Jered Weaver you havet to make them pay off. So far, that's been an issue. The Sox have left five men on through the first two innings.
The one positive in their three hits, one walk and one Angels miscue (ruled a fielder's choice but it was a mistake, for sure) is that Weaver has needed to throw 41 pitches.
LA's bullpen stinks. The sooner you can get there the better.
End 1st, 0-0: The boos don't get to John Lackey as he has a 1-2-3 bottom of the first inning. Bobby Abreu is a strikeout victim to end it. That's now 10 straight innings without allowing an earned run for Lackey.
Mid 1st, 0-0: The Sox were given an early gift when Angels third baseman Alberto Callaspo threw to the wrong man at second base on what should've been an inning-ending force. But Jered Weaver gets Adrian Beltre to ground to Callaspo, who this time just steps on third with the bases loaded and gets an easy force.
Jed Lowrie, bumped from seventh to second in the order when J.D. Drew was scratched, doubled with one out. Kevin Youkilis followed with a walk before Victor Martinez reached on the Callaspo mistake.
It all leads to 22 pitches for Jered Weaver in the first.
10:06 p.m.: J.D. Drew has been scratched with hamstring tightness. Darnell McDonald will take over in right with Jed Lowrie bumping up to the second spot in the lineup.
9:58 p.m.: The John Lackey-Jered Weaver matchup presents an interesting look at a mentor-mentee relationship. It also gives us a look at guys whose seasons have seen dramatic changes in some of the same categories.
While Lackey has seen increases in walks per nine innings (2.4 to 3.4), hits per nine innings (9.0 to 10.1) and a drop in strikeouts per nine innings (7.1 to 5.4), Weaver has gone in the other direction.
Although Weaver will be hard-pressed to match last year's 16-8 campaign, he is enjoying his best season as a pro if you take stock in any of these peripheral numbers.
Weaver's walks per nine are down from 2.8 to 2.0, his hits per nine have dropped from 8.4 to 7.8 and his K per nine rate has soared from 7.4 to 9.9. The righty has been using his curveball more often and getting increased efficiency out of his fastball.
9:30 p.m.: Is it time to start rooting for the Yankees? Some would say "never", but this weekend may present an opportunity to do so. New York visits Tampa Bay, which is currently winning in the eighth inning against Detroit.
If the Yankees' nine-game lead in the loss column over the Red Sox (this could soon be eight as NY is losing in Cleveland) is too much for Boston to overcome, as some believe it is, then seeing the Bronx Bombers take care of business in St. Pete may give your boys a bit of a boost.
That said, giving up on the AL East crown might a bit premature. Let's wait and see what happens in New York next weekend when the Sox and Yanks play four straight.
So I guess that gives you two contrasting messages. Make your own call, but at least keep your eyes on the happenings in Florida this weekend. It could have major ramifications for the Red Sox' chances in either race.
9:00 p.m.: The fact that the Red Sox have survived this season through a rash of injuries is one thing. That they've sustained the injuries through legitimate means, as opposed to finding other ways to get hurt, makes it all a bit more admirable.
From Chris Coughlan's shaving-cream-in-face-knee-injury to Mat Latos' DL-inducing sneeze to Kendry Morales breaking his leg jumping on home plate following a walk-off homer, there has been no shortage of odd injuries this year.
Good thing the Sox stick to getting hurt on the field. Otherwise any effects of such bang-ups would be that much harder to take. Can you imagine if you started slumping after Dustin Pedroia banged his foot on a hotel coffee table, like Seattle's Russell Branyan?
The Morales injury is no laughing matter in Anaheim. In fact, that may be the biggest reason they face healthy deficits in both the AL West and wild card race. Stick to high-fives and handshakes, fellas. It means just as much.
8:25 p.m.: Word out of Anaheim on the injury front has Dustin Pedroia learning that his return will not be this week, as he might've hoped, or maybe even next week. He visited Dr. Lewis Yocum earlier Tuesday and found out that the original 6-8 week recovery schedule is still in play.
Pedroia will get a CT scan when he gets back to Boston, according to reports. We should learn more then about a timetable for his return.
The All-Star second baseman told reporters that he did feel something unusual when he ran Monday in Anaheim. Yocum advised shutting it down until the scan, which will avoid the worst-case scenario of the bone breaking off and season-ending surgery.
In other news, Jacoby Ellsbury went 1-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base in his second rehab game in Fort Myers. We may get word that Ellsbury is headed to either Portland or Pawtucket soon, and perhaps he will return by the end of the team's upcoming homestand, or on their next 10-game road trip (yep, there's another one).
It was a tad surprising but also encouraging to see Mike Cameron's name on the lineup card. When he was removed in the late innings Monday night after having to repeatedly dive back into first base, it seemed as if he would get a day off — he has been given plenty as is just to rest his abdominal area.
Cameron is as close to being a regular as he has been since early April.
Back in a bit with more on the John Lackey-Jered Weaver matchup.
7:10 p.m.: Victor Martinez moves up a spot in the lineup and Mike Cameron gets another start despite leaving Monday's game early when the Sox and Angels meet in the second game of the series. Here are the lineups for both teams.
Red Sox
Marco Scutaro, SS
J.D. Drew, RF
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
Victor Martinez, C
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Jed Lowrie, 2B
Mike Cameron, CF
Jeremy Hermida, LF
Angels
Maicer Izturis, SS
Alberto Callaspo, 3B
Bobby Abreu, RF
Torii Hunter, CF
Hideki Matsui, DH
Mike Napoli, C
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Juan Rivera, LF
Jeff Mathis, C
9:50 a.m.: When John Lackey was a rookie with the Los Angeles Angels in 2002 he won Game Seven of the World Series. Now a grisled veteran with a hefty contract with the Red Sox he returns to Angel Stadium as an opponent for the first time.
Lackey already faced his old mates once, mowing them down in Fenway Park back in May. But this one will bring with it a whole new set of emotions.
The Sox got the best of Lackey's former team in the opener Monday night. David Ortiz homered twice and Victor Martinez had an RBI single in his first game in a month to back seven strong innings by Clay Buchholz.
Jered Weaver, the American League leader in strikeouts with 147, goes for the hosts.
Boston is 5-0 against Los Angeles this year.
First pitch is 10:05 p.m.
