G120: Red Sox 4, Angels 3 (10)

Great win last night (actually, this morning, as the game ended at 1:51). Boston never trailed, but after a blown two-run lead in the 8th and a whopping 16 men left on base, it felt like a comeback victory.

Matt Clement left after seven innings with a 3-1 lead, but Mike Timlin couldn't hold it. With two outs and Orlando Cabrera on second, Timlin walked Vladimir Guerrero intentionally. Although it put the tying run on base, it was the right move, but then he and Varitek fell asleep as the two Angels pulled off a double steal without drawing a throw. Bengie Molina's single to left tied the game.

In the 10th, Gabe Kapler and Johnny Damon both singled off Scot Shields. Edgar Renteria should have bunted, but he didn't -- and struck out. Roberto Petagine (in the game because David Ortiz had been ejected two innings earlier) fell behind 1-2, fouled off four straight pitches, and eventually drew a 10-pitch walk to load the bases. Manny Ramirez's high chopper to third -- no chance at a double play -- brought in the crucial run. ... Curt Schilling was excellent in relief, pitching two perfect innings, striking out four batters.

I love David Ortiz, but his crybaby routine on called strikes is getting old. Derek Jeter whines a lot, but Ortiz has likely surpassed him. Tiz definitely got squeezed in the eighth inning, but his ejection took his bat out of the game, forcing Petagine to hit in the tenth. Flo:

It's not like I was going crazy out there. Seriously, I'm leading the league in walks for a reason. I think I know what I'm doing out there. You never see me complain about a pitch that is a strike. I guess that follows me when I'm playing here. Dude, seriously, I've been getting bad calls all year long. But it's OK. You can get a bad call in one at-bat, maybe two at-bats. But in five at-bats? Get a bad call in all of them. I ain't taking that, bro. This is not a game you play just for fun. All I do is go to the plate and hit. I'm not out there playing defense. And I know the strike zone very well.

Ortiz moans plenty on actual strikes. I half expect him to bitch to the ump when he takes a full cut and misses. It's hard to tell exactly what he says to the umpires -- most times he simply looks exasperated, eyes rolling, hands on hips -- but I'm surprised he doesn't get run more often.

Bunts: In the second inning, Bill Mueller singled to center. Alex Cora then bunted down the third base line, the ball hit off Chone Figgins's glove and Cora was credited with a single. On the next pitch, Kapler bunted to the same spot. Figgins made that play and the runners advanced. In the third inning, Varitek bunted for a single (Figgins had no play on that one either). ... But when the situation absolutely called for a bunt, in the 10th, Renteria held back.

Keith Foulke says he felt great yesterday: "I warmed up 10-12 pitches. Even at that point, I just feel stronger, I feel more balanced than I used to. ... If I'm not pitching in a ball game by Sept. 1, there's bigger problems than my knee. ... It's really sore, but as long as I don't wake up tomorrow and it's not swollen like a softball, it's not that big a deal."

Two pitches before Nixon's line drive, Foulke jammed Adam Stern on a pitch that aggravated Stern's sore right thumb. Stern could be put on the disabled list in a few days when Nixon returns to the club. ... Nixon will play for Pawtucket Sunday (and possibly Monday) before joining the Sox Tuesday. "The plan is to play seven innings in the field Sunday and DH on Monday."

Alex Cora would have pitched in the eighth on Thursday if Mike Remlinger hadn't retired Steve Finley for the inning's third out. Cora: [I]t's because I'm the best athlete on the team. ... I was throwing nothing but fastballs in the bullpen. Had a live arm, too."

Tim Wakefield: "I'm thankful it's not broke. I think if it hit my ankle, it probably would have broke. It hit me right here [just above the ankle]. If it goes one more ball width lower, it hits my ankle bone, but it caught enough of the meat." Wakefield hopes to make his next start, which would be Wednesday in Kansas City.

Arroyo / Santana at 4:00.