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Bay homers twice as Red Sox edge Angels

Apr 12, 2009 - 1:24 AM ANAHEIM, California (AP) -- Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon and the Angels' Howie Kendrick were locked in a classic pitcher-batter duel.

Bases loaded, two outs in the ninth inning. Boston up by one run. That's when Kendrick fouled off seven pitches on an 0-2 count.

"It was really intense. That was the ballgame," said Papelbon, who finally got Kendrick on a tricky liner to right to close out a 5-4 victory Saturday. "After the sixth or seventh one, I was kind of giggling out there, `Is this really happening?' It was one of those moments like, `Man, how many more foul balls is this guy going to hit?'"

Boston manager Terry Francona could joke about the showdown, especially since he was sitting in the winning clubhouse.

"That was the proverbial had 'em all the way," he said with a grin. "That was some kind of at-bat. To a true baseball fan -- which, at the moment I wasn't -- that was an unbelievable at-bat by Kendrick. Every pitch, the game was in the balance.

"The more Kendrick swung, the more nervous we got. I'm glad the count didn't end up getting even or going full, or else it would have been more nervous. It felt like a playoff game. But it's a little early for that."

Torii Hunter led off the ninth with a homer off Papelbon, who had gotten the last out of the previous inning. The Angels then loaded the bases before Kendrick began his standoff that ended when Rocco Baldelli made the catch for the final out.

"That was a great at-bat. He finally got a pitch to hit and he hit a bullet. It just didn't find a hole," Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said.

Jason Bay homered twice and drove in three runs for Boston to help Brad Penny win his American League debut.

Mike Lowell added a two-run shot for the Red Sox, who ended a nine-game regular-season losing streak against Los Angeles. It's been a different story in the postseason, however, with Boston eliminating the Angels in the first round of the playoffs three times in the previous five years.

Los Angeles' Mike Napoli hit a pair of homers, doubled and walked.

The Angels won the series opener 6-3 on Friday night following an emotional tribute to teammate Nick Adenhart. The 22-year-old rookie pitcher was killed along with two friends when the car they were in was broadsided by a minivan driven by a suspected drunken driver hours after Adenhart pitched six scoreless innings against Oakland on Wednesday night. Thursday night's game against the Athletics was postponed.

There were many reminders of Adenhart on Saturday: the still-mounting shrine of flowers and Angels items brought by fans to the mound of the brick "infield" outside the stadium's main entrance; a picture of him on the big screen inside that drew applause from both Los Angeles and Boston fans; the black patches on the front of the Angels' jerseys; and his clubhouse locker, left as it was after he pitched Wednesday night.

Hunter thinks the healing process has begun for the Angels.

"Today was kind of different. Last night, the ceremony, the moment of silence," he said. "Today we played baseball. I think we're where we need to be, although of course we'll never forget Nick. I think it brought us closer."

Penny (1-0) gave up three runs and five hits, including both of Napoli's homers. Penny is coming back from an injury-plagued 2008 season with the Dodgers after winning 16 games for them in both 2006 and 2007 and making the NL All-Star team both years.

Joe Saunders (1-1) came in with a streak of 21 2-3 scoreless innings for Los Angeles, including seven innings in a 3-0 victory over Oakland in the season opener. But Lowell ended that with his homer in the fifth. Bay added a two-run drive off the left-hander in the seventh and hit his second of the day against Justin Speier in the ninth.

Saunders, who has dedicated his season to Adenhart, gave up four runs and seven hits in seven innings. He lost for the first time in five career decisions against Boston.

Bay walked and scored on Lowell's homer to tie it at 2 in the fifth. After Napoli answered with his second homer in the bottom half, Bay homered to put the Red Sox on top to stay.

Notes: The multihomer game was the 13th of Bay's career. He homered against Penny two seasons ago for Pittsburgh against the Dodgers, ending a streak of 70 consecutive homerless innings pitched by Penny. ... Papelbon had a career-high 41 saves last season. He pitched more than one inning in 11 of them. ... The Angels recalled OF Reggie Willits from Triple-A Salt Lake to fill the roster opening caused by Adenhart's death. "It's very difficult," Willits said. "Anytime you get called up, you're happy to go up. But under the circumstances, it just didn't feel right. ... I remember talking to my wife, and telling her: `I really hope it's not me,' because of how hard it is." Willits came in as a pinch-runner in the ninth and was stranded at third.