Angels end 4-game losing streak by beating Red Sox
BOSTON - It took a trip to Fenway Park to get the Los Angeles Angels going in the right direction again.
In their first meeting of the season with Boston, the Angels ended a four-game losing streak by beating the Red Sox, 5-3, on Tuesday night.
"I don't see our guys tense or anything," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia. "They're frustrated. And they went through a very tough homestand. The only thing that's going to cure that is to start to play to your potential and start to win. And hopefully this was a first step in that."
Right-hander Ervin Santana earned the win, going 6 1/3 innings and giving up two runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts. He improved to 7-10, with a 5.46 ERA.
"Trying to be simple, trying to minimize the damage and that's what I [did] tonight," said Santana. "I always have confidence... Tonight when we started to score runs, it just builds my confidence more."
Red Sox right-hander Aaron Cook took the loss. He went five innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on a season-high 11 hits, including a two-run home run by Mike Trumbo in the fifth, and a walk with a season-high four strikeouts. His record fell to 3-7 as his ERA rose to 4.79.
"Cookie had his groundball going again," said Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine. "We were hoping for one more there, instead it turned into a two-run homer. He had about, I don't know, counting the outs and the hits, probably 20 groundballs. Had his sinker working. It just wasn't placed well early in the game and the two-run homer kind of did him in."
The Angels got a run in the third when Mike Trout hit a one-out single to center, taking second on Cook's errant pick-off attempt. With two outs, Trout scored on Albert Pujols' single to center.
In the fourth, the Angels sent seven batters to the plate, with five reaching base on consecutive hits, all singles. After Trumbo struck out to open the inning, Howie Kendrick singled to right and Alberto Callaspo singled to left. Kendrick scored on Erick Aybar's single to right, with Aybar thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Chris Iannetta's single to shortstop scored Callaspo. Trout singled before Torii Hunter hit into a fielder's choice.
The Angels added two runs in the fifth when Trumbo's 30th home run of the season cleared the left field wall, scoring Kendrys Morales, who had singled to center.
"I felt really good," said Cook. "I felt like I was making pitches. They were just finding holes with those singles. Being a sinkerball pitcher, you kind of live off whether or not they hit the hole or hit it at your infielders. And they were able to string together a few of those in the holes. And then I left one pitch up on a 3-2 [count] to Trumbo and he hit it about as hard as you can hit a baseball.
"They got a really tough lineup."
Meanwhile, the Sox mustered little offense against Santana until the sixth inning, when Jarrod Saltalamacchia's 21st home run of the season scored Cody Ross, who had walked with two outs, cutting the Angels lead to 5-2.
The Sox added a run in the seventh off reliever Jordan Walden. Scott Podsednik doubled to left, going to third on Pedro Ciriaco's groundout, and scoring on a wild pitch with Dustin Pedroia batting.
Ernesto Frieri earned his 15th save with a perfect ninth.
NOTES: The Red Sox held a pregame tribute for Johnny Pesky. It was Boston's first home game since Pesky passed away Aug. 13 at the age of 93...Right-hander Vicente Padilla was activated from the disabled list prior to the game. He had been on the DL since Aug. 6 with right arm tightness. To make room on the roster for him, third baseman Danny Valencia was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket...Left fielder Carl Crawford is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery on Thursday and was placed on the 15-day DL retroactive to Aug. 20...Outfielder Daniel Nava, on the DL since July 29 with a left wrist sprain, was activated...Jacoby Ellsbury was batting third in the Red Sox lineup for the first time this season, after hitting either first or second all season. He has played in just 42 games because of injuries, batting .250 with one home run, 24 runs scored, and 11 RBIs...The Red Sox have had 49 players appear in a game this season, matching their entire 2011 total. It's the third-most in the majors this season behind Toronto (51) and San Diego (50)...Trout scored the first run of the game. It was his 97th run in his 100th game of the season. The only player with more runs scored in his first 100 games was Joe DiMaggio with 100 runs in 1936...Trout entered the game leading the American League in average, at .343, and stolen bases, with 39. Only two players (one rookie) in the last 63 years have led a league in both categories - Ichiro Suzuki in 2001 (.350, 56) and Jackie Robinson in 1949 (.342, 47). Trout also leads the majors in runs scored....Hunter entered the game hitting in 14 of 17 games this month, batting .356, going 26-for-73...This is Pujols' first appearance at Fenway Park since the 2004 World Series, first time in the regular season since June 10-12, 2003... It was the first time the Red Sox and Angels faced each other this season. It is the latest-ever calendar date the two teams have faced each other, surpassing their previous latest of July 30, 2001. It had been 474 days since the teams had faced each other, on May 5, 2011, which marked the earliest the two teams played their final game in a season...Trout was caught stealing to end the ninth, snapping a franchise-high streak of 30 consecutive steals without being caught. He was last caught June 4 against the Mariners.
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