Angels Split Series With 11-0 Win Over Red Sox
BOSTON (AP) -- Maybe sleep is overrated for the Los Angeles Angels.
Less than 12 hours after beating Boston in a 13-inning game that was delayed past closing time Thursday morning, the Angels came out swinging in an 11-0 afternoon shutout of the Red Sox that salvaged a split in the series for Los Angeles.
The Angels finished with 18 hits and had a trio of three-run innings while beating a team that owned them last month. Los Angeles entered the four-game series 0-6 against Boston.
"We came in this morning and got the bats rolling early," said Howie Kendrick, one of three Angels with a pair of RBIs in the shutout. "It definitely feels good to get the last two, especially after they swept us."
Bobby Abreu drove in three for the Angels, who chased Boston starter John Lackey (2-4) in the fifth after scoring eight runs on 10 hits.
Rookie Mark Trumbo hit his sixth homer and second of the series, and Joel Pineiro (1-0) got his first win of the season, holding Boston to three hits over 5 2-3 innings. Relievers Rich Thompson and Francisco Rodriguez preserved the shutout as the Angels prevented the Red Sox from getting a runner past second.
"You saw a bunch of guys that were physically beat up and mentally tired -- got about 6 hours of sleep -- and came out and played a good game today," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.
The Angels put together three-run innings in the third, fourth and fifth and became the fourth team to shut out Boston this season. The Red Sox fell to 3-4 during an 11-game homestand, which continues Friday night against Minnesota.
For the second time since an 0-6 start, the Red Sox got within one win of .500 and lost the next two. Boston ran out of relief pitchers during the rain-delayed loss that stretched several hours into Thursday, then couldn't hit when the afternoon game began.
"Last night was rough on the guys," Lackey said. "I definitely think there's a sense of me needing to pitch well to get some momentum going, for sure. If I would have pitched better early on I think guys might have found a little more energy."
The Angels had no such problems at the plate, coming up just one short of their season high for hits set against Kansas City on April 3. It was way more offense than Pineiro needed as he kept the Sox scoreless for 5 2-3 innings, striking out two and walking four.
Jacoby Ellsbury extended his hitting streak to 14 with a single in the eighth inning as Boston strung together a few late hits long after they needed them.
Lackey trailed 3-0 and was up to 62 pitches by the time he got out of the third inning -- then threw 29 more in the fourth, allowing five straight singles with two outs. Peter Bourjos, Erick Aybar, Howie Kendrick and Abreu hit consecutive singles to center, and Torii Hunter broke the streak with a single to right, which drove in Kendrick for the third run of the inning.
Vernon Wells led off the fifth for the Angels with a single and stole second, which proved unnecessary when Trumbo drove a 2-2 pitch into the Green Monster seats.
"He's a string kid," Scioscia said. "He got in front of it and got the ball out quick. He got two walks, too, which is good to see in a young kid."
That was all for Lackey, who was booed loudly as he slowly walked to the dugout. Scott Atchison, recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket earlier in the day, came in from the bullpen.
The Angels added another run when Bourjos doubled, went to third on a throwing error and scored on Aybar's infield single.
Boston didn't get a hit until Carl Crawford lined a ball off of Pineiro for an infield single with one out in the fourth, but the inning ended quickly and quietly.
NOTES: Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia got his first day off, one day after going 0 for 6 and striking out four times... A fan was kicked out in the fifth inning for grabbing a live ball hit by Jed Lowrie to the deepest part of center field. The ball bounced and may have been a ground-rule double even without the interference... David Ortiz led off the fifth for Boston with a line drive off the left-field wall and was thrown out easily while trying to stretch it into a double. It was just the second hit of the day for the Red Sox... Boston put relievers Bobby Jenks (strained right biceps) and Dan Wheeler (strained left calf) on the 15-day DL and called up Atchison and LHP Rich Hill from Pawtucket.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
