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 It all added up to a 6-2 loss to AL East-leading Boston on Friday night, ending the Angels' three-game home winning streak against the Red Sox.
"We know our defense should be an asset for us, but some guys are just having some issues making some plays that are routine," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.
Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton each went 1 for 4, and Mike Trout was 1 for 3 with a walk for the Angels.
Shane Victorino scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning on a dropped fly ball by Hamilton in right field, and David Ortiz had a pinch-hit two-run homer for Boston, which won its fifth in a row and ninth in 10 games.
Victorino singled leading off the seventh against Wilson (8-6). He retired the next two batters before Jonny Gomes hit a towering fly toward the right field line that should have ended the inning.
Hamilton ran a long way and stuck out his glove, but the ball bounced off it, allowing Victorino to score from first base.
"It's just unfortunate that the ball unraveled on that one," Wilson said about Hamilton's miscue. "But it's a big adjustment to move from center to right on a permanent basis, and I think he's still in the adjustment phase with that.
"Sometimes he's made plays where he's a little bit hesitant, just because the lights are in a different place and all that stuff."
Wilson was replaced by Dane De La Rosa, who ended the inning by picking off Gomes.
Wilson allowed three runs -- one earned -- and 10 hits in 6 2-3 innings, struck out five and walked two in ending his four-game winning streak.
"I struggled a little bit getting ahead in the count, and when I did get two strikes on those guys, I didn't put them away. That's why they got so many hits," he said. "They were out there just trying to put the ball in play, and they hit a lot of balls through the middle of the field, which is a pretty good plan. But they're hot."
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Wilson gave up three consecutive two-out singles to load the bases in the sixth before fielding a soft broken-bat liner from Jacoby Ellsbury to end the inning. Wilson flipped the ball into the stands as he jogged back to the dugout.
"He started off the game a little bit erratic," Scioscia said of Wilson. "He was behind in a lot of counts, and his ball-strike ratio was not good for about the first three innings. After he gave up a couple of runs in the second, he started making pitches with better command, definitely with his fastball."
The Red Sox took a 2-0 lead in the second on Jarrod Saltalamacchia's RBI single and a fielding error by left fielder J.B. Shuck.
"Some guys that are really good defensive players have been having a rough time," Scioscia said. "Josh overran a fly ball and didn't get to it, and J.B. got caught in-between on a line drive."
Felix Doubront (5-3) allowed two runs and five hits in 6 2-3 innings, struck out five and walked two. The left-hander retired 10 in a row after giving up a tying homer to Howie Kendrick leading off the fourth.
Ortiz had originally been scheduled for a day off, but came in to pinch-hit for Brandon Snyder with the Red Sox clinging to a one-run lead in the eighth. He slugged his 17th homer of the season to right field on an 0-1 pitch from De La Rosa, scoring Daniel Nava who led off with a double.
The Angels, who had won eight of nine, scored their first run on Pujols' double-play groundout in the third.
NOTES: Angels RHP Jered Weaver became a father on Friday when his wife gave birth to son Aden David Weaver. The baby is named for Weaver's late teammate and friend Nick Adenhart, who was killed by a drunken driver in 2009 hours after pitching in his season debut. Weaver is set to start Sunday's series finale. ... The Angels will start RHP Jerome Williams on Saturday, three days after he started in a 12-2 loss to St. Louis. ... It was Ortiz's fifth career pinch-hit homer, and his first since May 29, 2011, at Detroit.
[Associated
Press; By BETH HARRIS]
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