Projo Sox Blog

For nearly every moment of all 12 innings of a long, arduous game in Anaheim today it seemed like the Red Sox were on the verge of breaking through. They put men on first, men on first and second, men on all bases -- but the big hit never came.

It was the Angels who finally delivered, when catcher Jeff Mathis drove home Reggie Willits with a walk-off single to left in the bottom of the 12th. That put Los Angeles on top, won 5-4, touching off a mad celebration on the mound and giving them the win in the series.

The Red Sox left a season-high 17 men on base, 12 of them by David Ortiz.

"We had a lot of opportunities, we couldn't cash in, and on the road, that makes it even harder. But I still thought we were going to win," manager Terry Francona said.

Perhaps the closest moment came when the Sox loaded the bases with one out in the top half of the 12th. But Dustin Pedroia struck out and Ortiz could only manage a nubber in front of the plate, ending the inning.

"To have the chances that we had, and to shoot ourselves in the foot, per se, it does make it a little bit tougher, but what's done is done," said left fielder Jason Bay.

The tense, dragging extra innings made a few excellent performances, like Pedroia's 4 hits and a walk, and Julio Lugo 's career-high tying five hits, seem like they happened on another afternoon, long ago.

In fact, the early part of the game held great, breakneck excitement -- particularly for Angels fans. Angel hitters had the kind of day that exemplifies their fast-paced, hard-running style of baseball. The Angels slammed three triples, two off the centerfield wall, and one into the right-field corner, tying a club record last accomplished in 1991. The first two triples led to runs.

Despite the triples, Brad Penny, once again, gave the Sox just enough to keep them in the game. He was tormented, however, by Torii Hunter. With Bobby Abreu on first base in the first inning, Hunter bashed the game's first triple off the centerfield wall, bringing in Abreu. In the third, with men on first and second, Hunter laced a double past Mike Lowell at third base, to give the Angels two more runs. Hunter finished a home run short of the cycle, and stole two bases.

Penny said he felt pretty good about his pitching today, but the Angels are a tough team.

"I thought I had good command of my fastball. My off-speed wasn't as good as I would have liked, but I competed today," Penny said.

Penny came out to start the seventh, but Erick Aybar chased him with the second triple of the day. The third triple came in the eighth inning, when Abreu knocked one off the centerfield wall. JD Drew kept him from scoring, however, racing in from right to chase down a Hunter pop-up, and then getting enough juice on his throw home to easily beat Abreu to the plate.

The Red Sox did consistent damage against Anaheim's Ervin Santana, making his first start of the season. Lowell doubled to lead off the second, and Julio Lugo brought him home with an RBI single to center.

Pedroia's efforts led to the Sox' run in the third, and In the fourth, Boston scored when JD Drew walked, Julio Lugo moved him over with an infield single, and Jacoby Ellsbury drove him in with a single that deflected off first baseman Kendry Morales' glove. The Sox looked like they had a chance to blow the game open after Pedroia walked to load the bases, but Ortiz struck out swinging to end the threat.

Santana was gone after five innings. Terry Francona lasted longer -- the Sox manager stuck around until the 10th, when he was tossed from the game for something he yelled from the dugout after home plate umpire Bill Miller issued a questionable call on a pitch to Julio Lugo.

 Tags  Brad Penny Dan Barbarisi Dustin Pedroia Torii Hunter

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