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Red Sox rally to beat Angels 4-3

May 13, 2009 - 7:01 AM ANAHEIM, Calif.(AP) -- The Boston Red Sox have the third-best bullpen ERA in the American League. The Los Angeles Angels have the worst in the majors. That disparity was the difference Tuesday night.

Jason Varitek drove in the go-ahead run with a double in the ninth inning, J.D. Drew homered and Jonathan Papelbon converted his ninth save in nine chances, leading the Red Sox to a 4-3 victory over the Angels after seven innings of frustration against Jered Weaver.

"That's a hard game to win on the road," manager Terry Francona said. "This is a tough place and we've been in a lot of close games here. But we had the lead when we needed it at the end."

The Angels' bullpen has been scored on in 20 of 29 appearances with five blown saves, a 2-9 record and an uncharacteristic 6.90 ERA.

"It kind of hurts a little bit because Jered pitched a heck of a game and he deserved to get a win out of it," setup man Scot Shields said. "It was just one of those nights we didn't get it done. I don't know if it's contagious right now, but we just aren't pitching up to our capabilities."

Weaver, coming off the first complete-game victory of his four-year career, allowed a run and four hits over seven innings and left with a 3-1 lead before the bullpen squandered it.

The Red Sox loaded the bases with one out in the eighth against Jose Arredondo, and Darren Oliver came in to face the still-homerless David Ortiz - who was 2 for 9 against the left-hander. Oliver hit Ortiz on the left wrist with a 1-2 pitch to force in a run, and Jason Bay grounded out against Shields to drive in Jacoby Ellsbury with the tying run.

Drew led off the ninth with a single against Shields (1-3) and scored one out later when Varitek lined the right-hander's 1-2 pitch to right-center for only his 13th RBI this season. The hit raised his batting average to .239.

"Tek had a real good at-bat. He got a breaking ball up and fortunately for us it got to the wall," Francona said. "He's getting the bat into the ball better. I don't think his batting average is the end-all, be-all for what he's doing here. Sometimes it's (more important) when you get a hit, and none were bigger than that hit tonight."

Ramon Ramirez (4-0) pitched a hitless eighth inning for the victory and Papelbon got the last three outs, striking out Torii Hunter with the tying run at second base.

Justin Masterson allowed two runs and five hits over six innings in his fifth start since replacing the injured Daisuke Matsuzaka in the Boston rotation.

Both dugouts received a warning from plate umpire Jim Joyce in the third inning after Masterson threw a pitch behind Hunter, who was backed off the plate by his previous offering.

"I couldn't throw a strike," Masterson said. "I walked two guys before that, then I left a slider up and in on him and I was trying to throw a sinker on the next pitch. It didn't look good, but there was no intent whatsoever on that pitch behind him."

The last time the teams met at Angel Stadium on April 12, Boston's Josh Beckett threw a pitch over the head of Bobby Abreu a split-second after time was called, precipitating a bench-clearing incident that led to the ejections of two Angels players, manager Mike Scioscia and hitting coach Mickey Hatcher. Beckett was suspended six games - reduced to five on appeal - and didn't miss a start.

"They were told of things that happened, but I don't think he overreacted," Francona said of Joyce. "He just got put in a tough situation where they were just trying not to let something happen. I understand it. I didn't complain to him. He gave me a good explanation."

The Red Sox began their six-game West Coast trip by placing first baseman Kevin Youkilis on the 15-day disabled list - retroactive to May 5 - because of a strained oblique on his left side.

Notes: Reigning AL MVP Dustin Pedroia missed his first game of the season because of a groin strain. ... Ortiz was homerless in his first 119 at-bats. The 13-year-veteran is 12 at-bats from equaling his longest dry spell at any point of a season during his big league career.