Angels Seek Relief, Get Opposite Effect

Not content merely to put their team in an early hole, the Angels’ starting pitchers found a new and creative way to mess things up Sunday.

After the Angels had rallied with three runs to bail out starter John Lackey, Mickey Callaway yielded home runs to David Ortiz and Jason Varitek on consecutive pitches in the 14th inning as the Boston Red Sox pulled out a 6-4 victory at Edison Field.

The breakdown marred a game in which Lackey delivered his best start in more than two weeks, the Angel offense denied Pedro Martinez his third consecutive victory and the Angel bullpen continued its dominance with six scoreless innings before Callaway surrendered the winning runs in a rare relief appearance.

“The pitch was in a decent area,” Callaway said of his fateful sinker away to Ortiz, “but I was behind in the count and he was able to put a real aggressive swing on it.”

Ortiz hit an opposite-field drive into the Angel bullpen in left. Varitek, who was 0 for 4 to that point, followed by hitting a curveball into the right-center seats.

Just like that, the Angels (11-14) had dropped their fourth consecutive series and ninth game in their last 13. The team has not won back-to-back games since sweeping Oakland April 11-13.

The Angels sent the game into extra innings by rallying for single runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. Bengie Molina capped the comeback in the ninth when he lined the first pitch he saw from Chad Fox to right field for a single that scored pinch-runner Eric Owens. David Eckstein then came to the plate with runners on first and second and one out but grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.

The Red Sox were in excellent position to take the lead in the 11th after Shea Hillenbrand hit a leadoff double and pinch-runner Damian Jackson moved to third on Jeremy Giambi’s sacrifice bunt. But Brendan Donnelly, who stretched his scoreless-inning streak starting the season to 16, struck out Varitek and retired Johnny Damon on a popup to first.

The Angels’ only threat in their first extra-inning game of the year came in the 13th, when Adam Kennedy hit a leadoff single and stole second. But Boston reliever Ramiro Mendoza, who pitched two innings to pick up the victory, escaped without further damage.

“I don’t think there was anything about this game that said we let it get away,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said. “We definitely gave it our best shot, and those guys pitched well when they had to.”

Lackey allowed four runs but gained momentum as the game progressed, pitching a 1-2-3 sixth and escaping a bases-loaded jam in the seventh by striking out Kevin Millar. The right-hander, who shortened his stride on the mound, said it was the best he had felt all season.

Martinez turned in a typically strong performance, allowing six hits and solo home runs to Jeff DaVanon and Scott Spiezio over seven innings while recording a season-high 10 strikeouts.

Spiezio’s home run, in the seventh, sparked controversy when a fan reached over the scoreboard in right field as the ball descended on top of the platform.

Second-base umpire Joe West, the crew chief, ruled the hit a home run, prompting Boston Manager Grady Little to race out of the dugout in protest. But the call stood after the umpires gathered to discuss the play, and the Angels trailed, 4-2, instead of 4-1.

Garret Anderson made it 4-3 in the eighth when he hit a Brandon Lyon pitch off the scoreboard in right-center for a double to drive in Kennedy.

“You just try to keep it a close game and make it a battle of the bullpens,” Lackey said. “We’ve got a chance to win that every time.”

Except, perhaps, when it’s an Angel starter who gets the call.