The Red Sox finished off their sweep of the Angels, thanks to a eighth-inning grand slam by Marco Scutaro off Fernando Rodney, sending the Halos to their fourth straight loss. The Angels are now nine games behind the Texas Rangers, as thoughts move toward 2011.
It appears Derrek Lee was warranted in not wanting to get traded to Anaheim from the Chicago Cubs.
The Angels fortunes didn’t look so bright, even before the game began, as Joel Pineiro was scratched from his scheduled start during pregame warmups. Per the Associated Press:
Los Angeles Angels right-hander Joel Pineiro will miss six to eight weeks after straining a muscle in his left side while warming up for a start against the Boston Red Sox.
Pineiro hurt an oblique muscle Wednesday while throwing in the bullpen. He underwent an MRI exam and the Angels announced he’ll be out for well over a month.
Scot Shields made the emergency start, his first start since September 28, 2003, and was understandably not up to the task. Shields allowed four hits and two walks while recording only five outs, giving up two runs.
However, relievers Francisco Rodriguez and Rich Thompson picked up the slack, combining for 5 1/3 innings of relief, as the Angels fought back to take a 3-2 lead. They gave up only one run, a game-tying solo home run to Kevin Youkilis in the seventh inning.
The Angels have tomorrow off before beginning an increasingly unimportant three-game series with Texas on Friday night.