G29: Red Sox 11, Angels 6

Angels  - 400 002 000 -  6  9  2
Red Sox - 002 054 00x - 11 11  0

Boston rallied from a 4-0 hole -- sending 19 batters to the plate in the fifth and sixth innings -- to sweep Los Angeles. It was the first four-game sweep of the Angels at Fenway in 43 years.

Boston swept the California Angels on August 18-20, 1967 (3-2, 12-11, 12-2, 9-8), the start of a seven-game winning streak that boosted the Red Sox into a first place tie in the AL on August 22, Carl Yastrzemski's 28th birthday.

A quick look at Baseball Reference turned up 15 four-game series between 1968 and 2009 (two of those were five-gamers, actually), though only two of the 15 have been played since 1998. Only twice (1984 and 1991) did Boston win the first three games before losing the finale.

After Dice's craptastic 39-pitch first inning, including walks to the first two batters of the game, he settled down nicely. He gave up a single in the second, a wind-blown double in the fifth and a double off the Wall in the sixth. He went to a three-ball count only once in his final 18 batters.

Victor Martinez hit a two-run homer in the third and doubled in the first two runs in the fifth. Later in the inning, facing reliever Brian Stokes, pinch-hitter Jeremy Hermida smacked a first-pitch 2-run single and Darnell McDonald followed with a first-pitch RBI double. In the sixth, the Red Sox had only two hits, but were helped out by two walks, an HBP, and an infield error.

Dustin Pedroia singled, doubled, and walked, stole a base, and scored three runs; he also made a couple of nice plays in the field in the early innings.

The Yankees are in Boston this weekend; they did not play on Thursday. Tampa Bay is leading the Mariners 6-0 in the 6th inning.

Scott Kazmir / Daisuke Matsuzaka

Scutaro, SS
Pedroia, 2B
Martinez, C
Youkilis, 1B
Lowell, DH
Drew, RF
Beltre, 3B
Hall, LF
McDonald, CF

The Red Sox go for a four-game sweep of the Angels. A win would put them over .500 for the first time since they were 1-0, after beating the Yankees on Opening Night.

Boston has gone 10-5 since April 20 and actually lost ground (one half-game) to Tampa Bay (20-7 overall, and 17-4 since April 11). In that 21-game stretch, the Rays have outscored their opponents by an average of almost four runs per game: 6.5 to 2.6. I hope they cool off by May 24.

Last night was Terry Francona's 1,000th game as Red Sox manager. At the end of this season*, he will be at 1,134, trailing only Joe Cronin (2,007, 1935-47). Francona would have to stick around until June 2016 to top the list.

92 Years Ago Today: Red Sox manager Ed Barrow's lineup has pitcher Babe Ruth hitting 6th and playing first base. Boston loses to the Yankees 10-3 at the Polo Grounds, but Ruth goes 2-for-4 with a home run. The next day, Ruth bats 4th and homers off Walter Johnson. Barrow decides to keep Ruth in the everyday lineup.