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Angels-Red Sox Preview

Sep 17, 2009 - 5:23 PM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Los Angeles (86-59) at Boston (86-58), 7:10 p.m. EDT

The Los Angeles Angels' seemingly inevitable AL division series against the Boston Red Sox won't start for almost three weeks, but the teams already look like they're playing postseason baseball at Fenway Park.

The results look the same as usual, too.

The clubs are all but certain to face off for a third straight time in the first round of the playoffs, and Los Angeles will have one more chance to reverse the momentum Thursday night as the Red Sox try to cap a perfect homestand and a three-game sweep behind ace Josh Beckett.

The Angels' last two seasons have ended against Boston, and they've gone 1-9 against the Red Sox in the playoffs since 2004, but their frustration has begun before October this year.

After the Red Sox (86-58) won the series opener 4-1, Boston survived a wild back-and-forth affair for a 9-8 win Wednesday to move to 7-0 on this homestand.

The Angels broke a 7-7 tie with a two-out rally in the top of the ninth, but the Red Sox bounced back off Los Angeles closer Brian Fuentes in the bottom of the inning, with Alex Gonzalez driving in the winning run with a two-out bloop single.

"I was holding my breath the last two at-bats, just hoping for a break or hoping for something good to happen, and we got it," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia saw it differently. Boston's Nick Green walked to force in the tying run in the ninth, and Scioscia felt the umpires missed a couple of strikes. Fuentes went even further in his criticism of the umpiring.

"Especially here (at Fenway) and some other places, they seem timid to make calls," Fuentes said. "I've heard it from other guys that come in here and say that. That's either because it's a mistake, or they're scared."

Whatever the reason, the Red Sox have won a season-best 10 straight at Fenway, giving them the best home record in the majors at 52-21 and a 6 1/2-game lead on Texas for the wild card. The Angels (86-59) maintain a six-game edge on the Rangers in the AL West.

If they hope to shut down Los Angeles' powerful lineup again in the playoffs, the Red Sox likely need an effective Beckett.

The right-hander had been battling the flu, going 0-2 with a 7.76 ERA in a five-start stretch from Aug. 18 through last week, but he's hoping things have turned around after he got credit for a complete-game victory Saturday, tossing five innings in a rain-shortened 9-1 win over Tampa Bay.

"That's what I feel like I should do every time out," Beckett said. "You've just got to keep grinding every day and things end up working out."

Beckett (15-6, 3.82 ERA) pitched a four-hit shutout against the Angels in Game 1 of the 2007 division series, but since then he is 0-3 with a 7.03 ERA in four starts against Los Angeles, including postseason.'

He'll be facing the Angels for the first time since April 12, when he threw in the direction of Bobby Abreu's head, prompting a benches-clearing incident. Beckett was given a five-game suspension.

"I've never hit anybody in the head, and it's not really on my list of stuff to accomplish. But people can think what they want to think," Beckett said at the time. "I know Bobby Abreu. He knows I'm not trying to hit him in the head."

Angels starter Ervin Santana, meanwhile, hasn't beaten Boston since 2005. Including playoffs, he's 0-2 with a 7.30 ERA in his last five starts against the Red Sox.

The Angels may need Santana (7-8, 5.52) to pitch well in the postseason, and he's looking like he's up to the task. After a brutal start to the season following multiple arm injuries, the right-hander has a 2.96 ERA in his last seven starts, although he hasn't won since Aug. 22 after receiving a total of two runs of support in his last four outings.

"I don't have my best stuff yet, but I'm just trying to hang in there," Santana told the Angels' official Web site.

Santana likely won't face Kevin Youkilis, who has a back problem. Victor Martinez, however, is expected to return after missing two games due to a personal matter.