Final Score in Boston: Angels 4 Red Sox 2
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have the best record in baseball and lead the American League West by a half game over the idle Oakland Athletics.
C.J. Wilson was well over a hundred pitches when he departed in the sixth inning but he had allowed only one earned run at that juncture and the bullpen sealed it up for him without having to bring in Joe Smith or Huston Street, both of whom have pitched way too much too recently.
The Angels got their first runs early in the game after two were out in the third inning. Kole Calhoun walked, Mike Trout doubled him home and Albert Pujols singled in Trout. Boom! Two–Zip Good Guys .
Boston threatened in almost every inning as Wilson allowed five hits and walked five. But the defense did its job and C.J. did get five strikeouts along the way. Mike Morin relieved him in the sixth, added two baserunners to the one he inherited and then got a perfect 6–4–3 double play to end the threat.
In the top of the eighth with the Angels holding on to a one-run lead Chris Iannetta milked an eleven pitch walk off of Juniki Tazawa. It was epic. Kole Calhoun hit a booming double. Mike Trout struck out and the Red Sox elected to walk Albert Pujols. After going 0 for 5 yesterday with the bases loaded in yesterday's loss to the Rangers, it looked like the curse would stand as Howie Kendrick got jammed and hit a dribbler to the pitcher. But Tazawa bobbled it for one error and threw to the plate so wildly that two runs scored.
Tazawa was charged with two errors - one on the fielding and one on the throw. The four runs made it a little less nervous when Kevin Jepsen came in for a rare save appearance and allowed two on with nobody out but got out of it, striking out David "Big Papi" Ortiz, getting a run-scoring FC off of the bat of Yoenis Cespedes and then getting ex-Angel Mike Napoli to fly out to Mike Trout in Centerfield. Light up the Halo. We have a half-game lead with 39 to play.