LA Angels (13-9) at Boston (15-8)

TV: FSN | Radio: KLAA 830, KWKW 1330 1:35 pm ET Fenway Park TV: NESN | Radio: WRKO 680, SBN 1150
ana

Monster task at hand

Lyle Spencer / MLB.com
Joe Saunders, who works the series finale on Thursday for the Angels, is one of the few members of the troupe with fond memories of Fenway Park.
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Angels probable pitcher

Joe Saunders

  • LHP
  • (3-0) 2.15 ERA
Angels: A pair of Richie Sexson homers got in the way of an otherwise brilliant effort by Saunders against the Mariners, as he held them to six hits and no walks in eight innings while striking out two. Saunders has been the club's most effective starter in the early going, and he's now 18-8 in 37 career starts. He's 2-0 against the Red Sox with a 2.41 ERA in three career outings, and he won his only start at Fenway Park, giving up one run in 7 2/3 innings last season.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 18-8 4.36 216.2 73 136 .273
Season 3-0 2.15 29.1 6 12 .196
April 3-0 2.15 29.1 6 12 .196

Series at a Glance

Standings - 04/24/2008 W L PCT GB Home Away
Los Angeles Angels (AL West) 13 9 .591 - 6-5 7-4
Boston Red Sox (AL East) 15 8 .652 - 9-3 6-5
Stats - 04/24/2008 AVG R HR RBI SB SO ERA IP H BB SO
LAA .296 109 25 103 21 112 4.27 194.0 211 61 107
BOS .303 123 22 117 16 142 4.79 203.0 197 97 164
bos

New day, new face

Ian Browne / MLB.com
At a time when the Red Sox's farm system continues to churn out impact players, the latest phenom will make his Major League debut on Thursday afternoon at Fenway Park against the Angels.
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Red Sox probable pitcher

Justin Masterson

  • RHP
  • (0-0) -.-- ERA
Red Sox: This start was supposed to go to lefty Jon Lester, but he had to pitch one day early in place of the flu-ridden Daisuke Matsuzaka. Now, the highly touted Masterson gets the thrill of making his Major League debut at Fenway Park in the finale of this three-game set against the Angels. Masterson was a second-round pick of the Red Sox in the 2006 Draft. He is a sinkerball specialist and has dominated at Double-A Portland this season, going 1-0 with an 0.95 ERA in four starts.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG

Angels hitters vs Justin Masterson

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Abreu, Bobby - - - - .333 3 0 1
Aybar, Erick - - - - .000 2 0 0
Bourjos, Peter - - - - - - - -
Brown, Matthew - - - - - - - -
Budde, Ryan - - - - - - - -
Evans, Terry - - - - - - - -
Hunter, Torii - - - - .250 4 1 1
Izturis, Maicer - - - - .000 2 0 0
Kendrick, Howard - - - - .000 2 0 0
Mathis, Jeff - - - - .000 1 0 1
Matthews, Gary - - - - .250 4 0 0
Morales, Kendry - - - - - - - -
Napoli, Mike - - - - .500 2 1 1
Pettit, Chris - - - - - - - -
Rivera, Juan - - - - 1.000 1 0 0
Sandoval, Freddy - - - - - - - -
Trumbo, Mark - - - - - - - -
Willits, Reggie - - - - - - - -
Wilson, Bobby - - - - - - - -
Wood, Brandon - - - - - - - -

Red Sox hitters vs Joe Saunders

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Anderson, Brian - - - - .125 8 0 0
Bates, Aaron - - - - - - - -
Brown, Dusty - - - - - - - -
Drew, J.D. - - - - .200 5 0 0
Ellsbury, Jacoby - - - - .143 7 0 0
Hermida, Jeremy - - - - - - - -
Iglesias, Jose - - - - - - - -
Kotchman, Casey - - - - - - - -
Lowell, Mike - - - - .214 14 0 0
Lowrie, Jed - - - - .250 8 0 0
Martinez, Victor .333 3 0 0 .500 6 0 1
Ortiz, David - - - - .200 15 0 0
Pedroia, Dustin - - - - .389 18 0 0
Reddick, Josh - - - - - - - -
Varitek, Jason - - - - .000 4 0 0
Wagner, Mark - - - - - - - -
Youkilis, Kevin - - - - .250 16 1 3

Angels find luck in seventh (14-9) (15-9)

Angels 7, Red Sox 5

Halos take series

Lyle Spencer / MLB.com
The Angels weren't able to muster much against Sox starter Justin Masterson other than a couple of hits -- one, a solo homer by Mike Napoli. But the offense rallied in the seventh once Masterson left the game, and the Halos left Boston with a series win.

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Series at a Glance

 
Joe Saunders improved to 4-0 on Thursday afternoon. (Steve Senne/AP)

Masterpiece lost

Ian Browne / MLB.com
Justin Masterson made his big league debut with the series win on the line, and came through for the Red Sox with a solid six-inning performance. But the relief corps ran into trouble against the Angels in the seventh inning, spelling a loss for Boston.
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Angels 7, Red Sox 5

LA AngelsABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Figgins, 3B4011110.337
Matthews, RF5033010.266
Guerrero, DH2000303.276
Anderson, LF5110015.234
Hunter, CF5000024.313
Kotchman, 1B2100303.321
Izturis, M, 2B3111101.194
Napoli, C4211122.229
Aybar, E, SS4221000.358
Totals347979718 

BATTING
2B: Matthews (4, Aardsma).
HR: Napoli (5, 5th inning off Masterson, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Figgins; Matthews 4; Anderson; Izturis, M; Napoli 4; Aybar, E 2.
RBI: Napoli (10), Aybar, E (6), Figgins (5), Matthews 3 (18), Izturis, M (8).
2-out RBI: Matthews.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Napoli; Kotchman 2; Guerrero 2.
SF: Izturis, M.
GIDP: Anderson.
Team LOB: 10.

BASERUNNING
SB: Aybar, E (4, 2nd base off Aardsma/Cash), Izturis, M (5, 2nd base off Masterson/Cash), Anderson (1, 2nd base off Tavarez/Cash).
 
BostonABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Ellsbury, RF5110003.290
Pedroia, 2B5010021.351
Ortiz, DH5112001.189
Ramirez, M, LF5130001.356
Youkilis, 1B2100202.345
Lowrie, 3B3010000.348
Lugo, SS4000014.321
Crisp, CF4122002.341
Cash, C2011112.250
  a-Casey, PH1000010.346
Totals3651053516 

a-Struck out for Cash in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Crisp 2 (4, Saunders, Saunders), Cash (3, Saunders), Ramirez, M (8, Speier).
HR: Ortiz (4, 9th inning off Shields, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: Ellsbury; Pedroia; Ortiz 4; Ramirez, M 4; Lowrie; Crisp 4; Cash 2.
RBI: Crisp 2 (5), Cash (2), Ortiz 2 (20).
2-out RBI: Crisp; Cash; Ortiz 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cash 2; Ellsbury 2; Youkilis.
S: Lowrie.
Team LOB: 8.

BASERUNNING
SB: Crisp 2 (4, 3rd base off Saunders/Napoli, 3rd base off Saunders/Napoli).

FIELDING
E: Crisp (1, fielding).
PB: Cash (3).
DP: (Pedroia-Lugo-Youkilis).
 
LA AngelsIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Saunders (W, 4-0)6.07333302.55
Speier (H, 6)1.01000104.32
Shields (H, 5)1.22220112.53
Rodriguez, F (S, 9)0.10000004.66
 
BostonIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Masterson 6.02114411.50
Lopez, J 0.01221004.82
Delcarmen (L, 0-1)0.01221005.06
Okajima (BS, 2)1.02001200.96
Aardsma 1.02111103.55
Tavarez 1.01101005.23

Lopez, J pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.
Delcarmen pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.

IBB: Guerrero (by Okajima).
Pitches-strikes: Saunders 101-57, Speier 19-11, Shields 28-21, Rodriguez, F 5-3, Masterson 95-58, Lopez, J 12-5, Delcarmen 8-2, Okajima 32-19, Aardsma 26-17, Tavarez 16-9.
Groundouts-flyouts: Saunders 11-4, Speier 1-1, Shields 4-0, Rodriguez, F 0-1, Masterson 11-3, Lopez, J 0-0, Delcarmen 0-0, Okajima 0-1, Aardsma 1-1, Tavarez 1-2.
Batters faced: Saunders 28, Speier 4, Shields 7, Rodriguez, F 1, Masterson 23, Lopez, J 2, Delcarmen 2, Okajima 6, Aardsma 6, Tavarez 5.
Inherited runners-scored: Delcarmen 2-1, Okajima 3-3.
Umpires: HP: Jerry Layne. 1B: Phil Cuzzi. 2B: Jim Wolf. 3B: Ed Montague.
Weather: 75 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 18 mph, In from LF.
T: 3:17.
Att: 37,848.
April 24, 2008

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner