G108: Angels 6, Red Sox 2

Angels  - 002 200 200 - 6  7  0
Red Sox - 000 000 002 - 2  2  1

Lackey was two outs away from a no-hitter -- it would have been the first no-no against the Red Sox at Fenway Park since July 20, 1958 -- but Dustin Pedroia singled cleanly through the shortstop hole into left and Kevin Youkilis followed with a home run off one of the signs above the Monster Seats.

Tampa (Garza: 9-5-0-1-5, 106) shutout Toronto 3-0 to drop us 2 GB. Baltimore held on to beat New York 7-6, so the Yankees are 4 GB.

***

John Lackey (3.02, 138 ERA+) / Clay Buchholz (5.81, 75 ERA+)

In three starts (15 innings) since coming back from the disabled list, Buchholz has a 6.60 ERA and has allowed opponents to hit .328/.403/.557, yet he remains confident:

I'm feeling good and healthy and I feel like the mechanics side of my game has come around. ... The biggest thing for me, when I get in a little bit of trouble, is not going out there and letting it unfold. I've got to minimize the damage.

Lackey has also been struggling lately:

          GS   IP   H BB  K  ERA  AVG  OBP  SLG
0514-0629  9  68.2 48 13 54 1.44 .201 .247 .322
0705-0723  4  23.2 36  6 23 7.61 .346 .387 .577

A pitcher's record is of minimal value in judging his performance, but this is still neat: Jon Lester has begun his career with a 20-5 record and is the first Sox pitcher to be credited with 20 wins in his first 25 decisions -- Tex Hughson (1941-42) and Boo Ferriss (1945) each began 20-6.

Also: Rays/Blue Jays and Orioles/Yankees, both 7 PM

SoSH has threads dedicated to the team's possible interest in Mark Teixeira, Miguel Tejada, Doug Brocail, Jack Wilson, Geoff Geary, and Scott Eyre; news about shopping Manny is here.