Anderson's 5 RBIs lead Angels over Red Sox 11-3

[July 19, 2008]  ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Garret Anderson was 4-for-4 with a go-ahead solo homer and five RBIs, leading the Los Angeles Angels to an 11-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.

The Angels, going for their fourth AL West title in five years, bumped their division lead over Oakland to a season-best seven games with their major league-leading 58th victory. They are 20 games over .500 for the first time this year.

John Lackey (7-2) allowed three runs and five hits over seven innings and struck out six. The right-hander recorded his 1,000th strikeout when he fanned Kevin Youkilis in the fourth.

Youkilis and Manny Ramirez homered for the Red Sox, as the teams that came in with the two best records in the AL kicked off their post-All-Star break schedule. The defending World Series champions dropped into second place in the AL East with their eighth loss in 10 road games and Tampa Bay's 2-1 win over Toronto.

Ramirez, whose defensive play in left field has always been a cause for concern, misplayed what appeared to be a bloop RBI single by Maicer Izturis into a triple during a three-run sixth that extended the Angels' lead to 11-3.

The 12-time All-Star made a futile dive for a ball he had no chance of catching, then stumbled as he went to retrieve it - and ended up rolling over onto the baseball. Ramirez finally relayed it back to the infield a few seconds later and broke into a huge grin that didn't exactly mirror the pained expression on manager Terry Francona's face.

Clay Buchholz (2-5) was charged with eight runs and eight hits in 4 2-3 innings in his second start since returning from the minors. Four of the runs against the right-hander were unearned, the result of a two-out fielding error by shortstop Alex Cora on Torii Hunter's grounder in the fifth.

Buchholz is 0-3 with a 10.00 ERA in his last four starts. He made his big league debut against the Angels last Aug. 17 at Boston and beat Lackey 8-4. Two weeks later, he pitched a no-hitter against Baltimore in his next outing. But in 12 starts with the Red Sox since, he is 3-6 with a 5.28 ERA.

Buchholz threw 37 of his 83 pitches in the first inning while the Angels grabbed a 3-0 lead.

Youkilis, forced out of last Sunday's game with a bruised left triceps after getting hit by a pitch, pulled a 3-1 pitch into the lower seats in the left field corner to cut the margin to 3-2. The five-year veteran has 16 homers, matching his career-high total from last season in 199 fewer at-bats.

Ramirez, who was aboard on a single when Youkilis homered, tied the score in the fourth when he drove Lackey's first pitch of the inning for his 19th homer and 509th of his career. But Anderson regained the lead in the bottom half with a leadoff home run.

Cora's error during the Angels' four-run fifth allowed Casey Kotchman to score. Anderson followed with another RBI single that chased Buchholz, and Howie Kendrick added a two-run single against David Aardsma to make it 8-3.

Before the game, Francona skirted around internet reports that Ramirez was fined heavily for shoving team traveling secretary Jack McCormick to the floor in the visitors' clubhouse June 28 at Houston during an argument over a limited supply of tickets.

"We handled it how we thought was appropriate," Francona said. "Things that happen, we take very seriously. But for us to react differently because something got in the media, I don't know that I agree with that. I don't think that because we don't say things, we're spineless. But everybody's entitled to their opinion."

Notes:@ RHP Bartolo Colon, who won a Cy Young Award with the Angels in 2005, has been sidelined since June 17 with lower back stiffness. But Francona has no regrets about the Red Sox signing the injury-prone free agent to a contract worth $1.2 million plus performance and roster bonuses after the Angels decided not to re-sign him. "I think we're real glad we signed him. Finding pitching is not easy," Francona said. "There have been a few setbacks. But when he's pitched, he's pitched very well. He went out there and won his first four games for us. That was big. I mean, if we had gotten him to throw 200 innings, that's a little different story." ... The Angels flip-flopped the scheduled starters for the final two games of the series. All-Star Joe Saunders will pitch Saturday and Jon Garland will be held back a day because of a stiff neck.

[Associated Press]

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