Jon Lester pitched six scoreless innings as the Boston Red Sox won 4-3 Friday night at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, their second win over the Los Angeles Angels in as many days. The Angels could only manage four hits and two walks against Lester, who struck out eight. Dan Haren allowed four runs, thought just two earned runs, in his six innings, and picked up his first loss of the season.
The Red Sox opened the scoring with an RBI double by Jacoby Ellsbury in the third inning. Then, one inning later, with two runners on base, defensive stalwart Peter Bourjos misplayed a flyball by Carl Crawford, allowing two more runs to score. J.D. Drew drove in the fourth run for Boston with an RBI single in the sixth inning.
The Angels chipped away at the Red Sox lead with a pair of RBI singles, by Jeff Mathis in the seventh inning and Bobby Abreu in the eighth. Abreu then scored thanks in large part to the Boston battery. He advanced to second base on a wild pitch by Bobby Jenks, then Abreu scored from second base on a passed ball by Jarrod Saltalmacchia, who had trouble finding the ball at first.
Jonathan Papelbon allowed a single in the ninth inning, but retired the Angels for his fifth save of the year. Tonight was the third consecutive day that Papelbon has been used.
The Angels have lost five straight home games to the Red Sox. These two teams play again tomorrow night, in the third game of their four-game weekend series. Ervin Santana gets the start on Saturday for the Angels, with Daisuke Matsuzaka pitching for the Red Sox.
For more news and information about the Angels, or on tonight's game, be sure to read the SB Nation blog Halos Heaven.