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Angels-Red Sox Preview

Aug 19, 2010 - 4:00 AM By MATT BROWN STATS Editor

Los Angeles (60-60) at Boston (68-52), 7:10 p.m. EDT

Little has come easily for the Boston Red Sox in 2010, except when they've played the Los Angeles Angels.

The Red Sox seek to complete a sweep of their 10-game season series with the Angels when the teams conclude a three-game set Thursday night at Fenway Park.

Forced to field a makeshift lineup for much of the season due to a spate of injuries, Boston (69-52) hasn't won more than three straight games since June and trails AL East co-leaders New York and Tampa Bay by 5 1/2 games, with the runner-up likely to earn the wild card.

The Red Sox got 2008 AL MVP Dustin Pedroia back from a broken left foot Tuesday, but revealed Wednesday that Mike Cameron will have season-ending surgery to repair a torn abdominal muscle. Fellow outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury also may not play again this year after re-aggravating a broken rib in his back last week.

Expected to play everyday, Cameron and Ellsbury have combined to appear in 66 games.

"I put it off a long time," Cameron said of his surgery. "It's time to explore the options of taking care of what I need to do to be ready to play baseball next year. It's time. It's just time."

Unheralded Daniel Nava and Darnell McDonald continued to make the most of their opportunities to replace Cameron and Ellsbury on Wednesday. McDonald went 2 for 3 with a double before Nava pinch-hit for him in the seventh. Nava got hit by a Kevin Jepsen pitch with the bases loaded to give Boston the lead, then preserved the lead by making a diving catch on Maicer Izturis' liner in the top of the eighth with two on and two out.

The Red Sox won 7-5, improving to 9-0 in the season series with Los Angeles (60-61). Boston has averaged 7.3 runs while batting .327 in those games.

The Angels, meanwhile, will now try to avoid their fifth losing streak this season of at least four games. Two of the previous four skids concluded with sweeps at the hands of Boston.

"Anytime when a team's struggling, less is more," said Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia, who had his team skip batting practice Wednesday. "If anything, our guys are working too hard."

Scioscia will give the ball to Ervin Santana (12-8, 3.99 ERA) in an attempt to cool off the Boston bats. The right-hander pitched well at Fenway on May 4, limiting the Red Sox to one run over seven innings, but wound up without a decision in a 5-1 loss. He is 1-2 with a 4.61 ERA in seven starts versus Boston.

Santana has won four of his last five starts overall, including a 7-2 home victory Saturday over Toronto in which he allowed one run, three hits and four walks in seven innings.

The Red Sox will counter with Josh Beckett (3-2, 6.51), who will make another attempt to reverse course in his disappointing season. The right-hander appeared to be doing just that in his first three starts following a two-month DL stint due to a back strain, going 2-0 with a 2.18 ERA, but has gotten pounded for 13 runs and 21 hits over 9 2-3 innings while losing his last two outings.

Beckett's first win after being activated came against the Angels. He gave up three runs and five hits in seven innings of a 7-3 win in Anaheim on July 28, improving to 3-3 with a 4.10 lifetime ERA against Los Angeles.