Angels taking early retirement

The Angels were supposed to compensate for their failure to add a big bat over the winter with a better balance of power throughout the lineup, and they’ve certainly looked more balanced over the last week.

No one seems to be hitting.

The Angels managed five hits in seven innings Friday night against knuckleball-throwing Tim Wakefield and were blanked by a trio of Boston relievers over the final two innings of a 10-1 loss to the Red Sox in Fenway Park.

The Angels have lost four of five games since their 5-1 start, and their first skid of 2007 has been accompanied by a familiar sound track: batters gnashing their teeth while walking or jogging back to the dugout after they’ve been retired.

“We’re searching for a little offensive chemistry right now,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Some guys are not having a lot of luck, they’re hitting the ball hard with not a lot to show for it. We’ve had a tough week. Obviously, we need to get some more offense going so we can ease the burden on our pitching staff.”

The Angels have gone six games, a span of 55 innings, without hitting a home run, and are batting .245 (49 for 200) with 16 runs, an average of 2.7 a game, during that stretch. They’re hitting .174 (12 for 69) with runners in scoring position in the six games and .267 with runners in scoring position on the season.

They trailed, 3-1, in the seventh inning Friday and had a chance to take the lead when catcher Mike Napoli, with runners on second and third and two outs, drove a fly ball to the warning track in center for a 400-foot out.

They were down, 4-1, in the eighth with Vladimir Guerrero up, two on and one out, but closer Jonathan Papelbon replaced Brendan Donnelly, the former Angel, and blew a 97-mph fastball by Guerrero for strike three.

Garret Anderson followed with a laser right at left fielder Manny Ramirez for the final out, and the Red Sox bombed relievers Darren Oliver and Greg Jones for six runs in the eighth, ensuring the Angels’ 13th loss in their last 17 games in Fenway.

“We’re just not getting the big hit right now,” said Angels pitcher John Lackey, who gave up three runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings and took the loss. “G.A. smoked that ball off Papelbon. Things like that can turn around in a hurry. We’ve got to keep grinding, keep going.”

Guerrero has cooled since his torrid start but is still batting .400 with three homers and 12 runs batted in, and Maicer Izturis (.314) and Casey Kotchman (.314) have decent averages.

But the performances of Howie Kendrick (.293), Orlando Cabrera (.262) and Anderson (.261) have been uneven, and the Angels are getting little from designated hitter Shea Hillenbrand, who is batting .143 and has been slowed by a groin injury, and Napoli, who is hitting .217 and has as many strikeouts (eight) as total bases.

Could Scioscia shake up the lineup?

“The guys in there now are the guys who need to do it,” Scioscia said. “Maybe until some guys start swinging it, it’s tough to juggle some things around until you know exactly what you’re dealing with.”

While the Angels’ big bats produced little more than a whimper Friday, a little one in the Boston lineup produced some thunder.

Doug Mirabelli, Wakefield’s personal catcher, a 36-year-old who plays once every five days and has a career .234 average, drove a 3-and-1 pitch into the bullpen in right-center for a solo home run in the fifth and hit a two-out RBI single to center to give Boston a 3-1 lead in the sixth. David Ortiz’s two-run double and J.D. Drew’s two-run single highlighted Boston’s eighth.

“I did a good job against the middle of the lineup,” Lackey said, “but in that lineup, I definitely can’t let [Mirabelli] beat me.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com