The Red Sox ensured they would go without a series win for the sixth straight set, falling 7-3 to the Angels as Clay Buchholz suffered a middle-innings meltdown.
Things actually started out quite well for Buchholz, who had some good movement on his pitches and picked out a pair of strikeouts in facing just six batters in the first two innings (though Albert Pujols helped ou there by running into an out at second base). Even in the third, when the first two runs came across, it was a matter of nickle-and-diming, with a couple of flairs and a ground ball all it took to give the Angels the early advantage.
The fourth inning, however, was a different story altogether. Two hard hit doubles and a pair of singles doubled the Los Angeles run total to four even with the Angels again running into an out when Mark Trumbo was caught trying to steal second base. While a lucky break helped him escape the fifth without giving up anything else, the warning shots fired in the frame likely should have been enough to end his night.
Instead, however, Bobby Valentine decided to stick with his laboring starter, and stick with him even after a one-out homer from Howie Kendrick. And the single that immediately followed. Only after a third straight batter picked up a hit in the inning did Valentine pull Buchholz from the game, but by then the rout was on. Junichi Tazawa let both of Buchholz' runners score, and the Angels suddenly had seven on the scoreboard.
The Red Sox offense had not fared nearly so well against Jered Weaver. After a double play had erased a leadoff single from Scott Podsednik in the first, and two baserunners were left on in the third, the Sox finally broke through with two outs in the fourth. A Jarrod Saltalamacchia single got the wheels turning before doubles from Ryan Lavarnway and Mike Aviles managed to get the Sox on the board with two runs of their own.
They would go quiet from there, however, at least until Weaver was out of the game. Dustin Pedroia would manage to snag a run back off of LaTroy Hawkins in the eighth, but that was all, leaving them losers yet again.
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