Mediocre pitching combined with lax defense buried Boston quickly as Angel bats were on top of their game. With two outs in the fifth, the shortstop made a critical error on Torii’s slow roller. This allowed the Angels a four run fifth with two outs. Then Manny’s almost comical play in the outfield left Maicier with a bloop triple. He ended up sitting on the ball while Izturis made his way smoothly around the bases. Ramirez only laughed afterwards. Anderson and Howie then got singles to knock in a few more runs to contribute to the final 11-3 score in the Angels favor. It was Anderson who earned five of those, going 4 for 4 on the night with a homer to center field. This is similar to the burst in offense he experienced last year after the break. He had only 15 RBIs and then ended with 80 getting 65 after the All Star Game. Hopefully, this year might also be the case.

John Lackey had a decent night. He allowed 3 runs in seven on five hits. Lackey also got the fans’ appreciation when he passed his 1,000th career strikeout. This was the first time he had gotten the win against the Sox in his past five efforts.

Torii Hunter had his 33rd birthday today and he had a good game as well. His slow roller was the spark to the Angels fire in that offensive fifth inning and he also scored two of those 11 runs, having one hit and a walk.

Tomorrow, Joe Saunders is set to battle Josh Beckett. Beckett has struggled slightly this season to get back to the place he was last year. He experienced an injury this season that placed him on the DL and his pitching performance has suffered of late. But history’s against the Halos as his record is 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA. Saunders has been doing well, having two significant events occur within days of each other; his first child and his first All-Star Game. He has a 12-5 record and a 3.07 ERA this season.