Angels tee off on Lackey to Earn Series Split against Red Sox

 

                                                                                            Sports Illustrated

Angels 11 Red Sox 0

Winning Pitcher: Joel Pineiro (1-0)

Losing Pitcher: John Lackey (2-4)

Recap

John Lackey struggled and the Angels' offense couldn't be stopped enroute to their 11-0 drubbing of the Red Sox on Thursday afternoon. Coming off of a long 13 inning affair, which was halted for 2 hours and 40 minutes due to rain, the Los Angeles bats did not seem tired. Lackey worked his way out of a jam in the first, and pitched well in the second, but the wheels started to fall off at that point. In the third, Lackey gave up three runs on three hits, and three runs on five hits in the fourth. After giving up a 2-run home run to Mark Trumbo in the fifth, he was given the boot. Lackey finished the game going 4+ innings, allowing 8 runs on 10 hits. The Angels then scored 3 more runs against Scott Atchison and finish their onslaught. The Red Sox offense was able to muster 7 hits, but no runs off Joel Pineiro and company. It has been a rough ending to a promising series for the Sox.

News and Notes

• The Red Sox made some roster moves today, placing Bobby Jenks (strained right bicep) and Dan Wheeler (strained left calf) on the 15-day DL. They called up Scott Atchison and Rich Hill to replace them. Both Atchison and Hill appeared in the game today, with the former giving up 3 runs in 3.2 IP, while Hill went 1.2 shutout innings. The Red Sox are clearly a bit worried about the condition of their two offseason bullpen acquisitions, both of which have been struggling thus far this year. 

•  The one bright spot for the Red Sox in today's drubbing was Daivd Ortiz. Boston's designated hitter went 3-3 and walked. He was the only batter with multiple hits. Also worth noting, Jacoby Ellsbury extended his hitting streak to 13 games. 

The Red Sox try to get back on track at home against the Twins on Friday night at 7:10 PM ET. The Twins will send Scott Baker (1-2 3.16) to the mound against Tim Wakefield (0-0 4.08).