Angels’ Mike Scioscia sticks with lineup, for a reason

Reporting from Boston -- It seemed Mike Scioscia was preaching patience Thursday when the Angels manager rolled out essentially the same lineup against the Boston Red Sox that he did in the previous six games of the road trip, all losses.

“I don’t think there are any changes we can look at that would have a major impact,” Scioscia said. “We want to keep giving this look as much time as we can.”

Scioscia doesn’t have a choice. Maicer Izturis, who has six hits in 12 at-bats with runners in scoring position this season and is a career .332 hitter with runners in scoring position, would be a logical replacement at the top of the order for Erick Aybar, who hit .167 (4 for 24) on the trip entering Thursday.

But Izturis’ throwing shoulder has been sore for more than two weeks, and the Angels considered putting him on the 15-day disabled list Thursday.

Izturis, who had shoulder surgery in 1999, aggravated the injury diving for a ball at third base Monday. He started at designated hitter Wednesday but can only play the field in an emergency.

“Izzy did a terrific job for us last year,” Scioscia said of Izturis, who hit .300 with eight homers, 65 runs batted in and 74 runs in 2009. “He’s a guy who would definitely be able to get in there and hit in a variety of positions and take some pressure off some guys or give us a spark.”

The one change Scioscia did make Thursday was to cancel batting practice. Players hit in the indoor cages before the game.

“There’s been a lot of extra batting practice and defense, and we had early work” Wednesday, Scioscia said. “After [Wednesday] night’s game, we all felt we would come here, get loose, and see if mentally we could get guys to just go out there and play baseball.”

The Angels then went out and scored four runs in the first inning, Howie Kendrick keying the rally with a two-out, two-run double to center field, the most runs the Angels have scored in a first inning since scoring four against Seattle last Sept. 9.

By the fifth inning, the lead was gone.

Sleepless in Seattle

The Red Sox didn’t do the Angels any favors by scheduling Thursday’s series finale for 7:10 p.m. EDT.

The Angels’ 10-game trip continues with a three-game series in Seattle beginning Friday night. So, after Thursday night’s game, the Angels had to fly all night, from Boston to Seattle, where they were scheduled to arrive about 4 a.m. PDT.

The Angels would have preferred to play a day game in Fenway Park, and teams often schedule day games on get-away days as a courtesy to the visiting club.

But the Angels have been notorious for scheduling 7 p.m. starts on get-away days — though they moved several of those starts to 4 p.m. this season — so it’s not surprising the Red Sox didn’t give them a break.

“It’s a tough turnaround — it’s not easy to do,” catcher Mike Napoli said. “You try to get some sleep on the plane and get as much rest as you can. Then you strap it on [Friday night], drink a Red Bull and get after it.”

Pitchers’ duel

Jered Weaver and Mariners ace Felix Hernandez, two of the American League’s top pitchers over the last five-plus seasons, are scheduled to pitch against each other Friday night in Safeco Field.

It will mark the seventh time the right-handers have faced each other. In the six previous games, the Angels are 4-2, while Weaver has gone 3-2 with a 4.23 earned-run average.

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com