Halos split series as Boston bats go silent

Angels 3, Sox 1
WP: Saunders (7-1)
LP: Tavarez (6-9)
SV: Rodriguez (31)
HRs: None

SUMMARY
On a glorious afternoon at Fenway the Sox got a quality start from Julian Tavarez, a solid debut from Bobby Kielty, even a three-K 9th from Eric Gagne, but still couldn't defeat the Angels as Joe Saunders stymied the Boston batters to run his record to 2-0 vs. the Sox this season and the Angels earned the split.

#1 STUNNER Kielty 2-3, BB
Not only did the former flaming redhead notch base hits in his first two at bats, his homer-robbing grab of a Casey Kotchman drive in the 1st inning kept the Sox in the game.

Nice way to start your career in Boston. Like the new 'do much better, too.

PAN's FAUN Kyle Snyder 2IP, 2H, ER, 2K
After relieving Tavarez in the 7th, Snyder worked his way into trouble (runners at 1st & 3rd and no outs), then nearly got out of the jam but he threw a wild pitch which allowed the critical 3rd run to score.

RECAP
I had a feeling the day was gonna turn out like this.

Actually I thought it would be a lot worse; I expected Tavarez to give up 4-5 runs, but I hoped the Sox offense would be able to produce that many as well.

But for the second time in three weeks L.A. starter Joe Saunders (7.2IP, 6H, 1ER, 2BB, 7K) shut down the potent Boston offensive attack, limiting the Sox to just six singles and a pair of walks in 7 2/3 innings of work.

The most frustrating part about this game was that after a slight setback in the first inning, when he allowed his only runs on the day, Julian Tavarez went on to have his best start for Boston since tossing seven shutout innings against the Braves in Atlanta on June 20th.

Curiously the game was delayed a bit when Tavarez (6IP, 2H, 2ER, 2BB, 2K) took a little longer than expected to enter the game from the bullpen.

From what transpired in the first I'd say he should have stayed out there a little longer, because as soon as Julie started throwing real pitches, the Angels took advantage.

The first three L.A. batters reached base when Chone Figgins led off with a single to left center, Orlando Cabrera walked and Vladdy (1-3, RBI) hit a sharp single to left to drive the speedy Figgins home from second.

Tavarez got Garret Anderson to fly out to deep center field, with O.C. taking third on the appendage of Coco Crisp, and then fan favorite Gary Matthews got him home with a fielder's choice grounder to deep short.

Just like that the score was 2-0 Angels, and judging from the less-than-full house at Fenway, many local diehards predicted such a beginning.

Those who arrived late missed the early indoctrination of Bobby Kielty into Sox lore just two pitches later, though.

Casey Kotchman, who had four hits in the series opener, scorched a 1-0 offering from Julie high & deep into the air in right, and without the skilled J.D. Drew out there it looked like the score was about to bloom to 4-zip.

But the once Carrot Top-coiffed Kielty got a bead on the blast, streaked in and timed his leap to expertly pick the ball before it went over the bullpen fence, a play that left Kotchman scratching his head, Kielty grabbing his torso in pain, and the Faithful who were in attendance showering him with a Fenway ovation.

Welcome to a real baseball city, Bobby.

The former A kept the applause coming when he singled in his first at bat to put runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the 2nd, but Saunders buckled down and got Coco and Lugo to fly out to squelch the threat.

In the top of the third the emotions generated by the best two teams in baseball playing 7 hard-fought contests in the last three weeks boiled over when Tavarez grazed Cabrera with his first pitch with one out in the inning.

O.C. tried to play it cool by taking a page from the Gerald Ice Williams "slowly remove my gloves, then get real pissed" book of brawls, but he quickly started jawing with the nonplussed Tavarez, and both teams gave a token benches-clearing effort while asking "what the fuck was that about?"

Evidently Julie had accused O-Dog of stealing signs while on base in the series in L.A earlier this month, and the brushback/grazing was a little message from Julie to say "don't fuck with me."

I'm sure Papi patched things up after the game by taking them all out for a few Mojitos.

More importantly was how Tavarez settled down after the outburst and despite walking Guerrero, induced Anderson and Matthroids into rally-killing groundouts.

Things stayed quiet for the next few innings as both starters found their groove, and you got the feeling that if Boston could just get Saunders out of there and get to that rattled Angel bullpen, the game, like the other three in the series, could turn around in a hurry.

Except that plan backfired when Boston went to its pen first and once again allowed a key run to score.

Kyle Snyder, whose last outing was the three-hit, three-run debacle in Baltimore a weel ago, took over in the 7th and continued to regress, allowing Kotchman (2-4, BI) to reach on a deep double to center and Sox killer Maicer Izturis on a single to right, sending Kotchman to third, setting up a potential game-killing rally.

But Snyder caught a break when new Sox backstop Kevin Cash nailed Izturis trying to steal second, and one pitch later a called strike three on a check swing by Ryan Budde had the beleaguered reliever on the verge of escaping the jam.

And then he bounced a pitch in the dirt about six feet in front and to the right of Cash, easily scoring Kotchman with the the ever popular insurance run, and suddenly it became that much harder to comeback again.

A two out single by Ortiz (2-4, R) in the 8th finally chased Saunders, and when Scot Shields came in and gave up a walk to Manny and a Wall-rattling RBI single to Lowell, it looked like the comeback kids were back in business.

Until Drew pinch hit for Kielty and stared at strike three, and every fan in the place thought "why are we paying that guy $70 mill and the other the league minimum?"

More groans followed when the horror show that is Eric Gagne rumbled in from the pen to pitch the 9th, and when Anderson singled on his first pith of the inning, the boos reigning down on him were of the variety normally reserved for Stankees and reviled ex-Sox.

It only got worse when Kotchman hit a hard hopper that bounced off Pedroia's chest for a single, but then suddenly Gagne did a miraculous and cliched thing--he turned the jeers into cheers by striking out the side, including Izturis and Budde swinging to exit the field in style.

Welcome to Boston, where if you perform, we love you.

That would be it for the cheers on the day, though, as Francisco Rodriguez came in and set the Sox down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning, including a pair of K's of his own, and the Halos escaped Beantown with a split of what could have been a 4-game BoSox sweep.

Ah well, at least the roadie opens in St. Pete.

NOTES:

-Boston lost despite outhitting L.A., 7-6

-Youk, mired in an awful 5-34 (.147) slump, went 0-4 with three Ks

-Fine me?: a quote by Tavarez regarding the plunking of Cabrera will certainly incur the wrath of the MLB. "I say if you are doing it, to stop doing it because I will hit you..." is how Julian explained the how the beaning beagn with a sign-stealing accusation in Anaheim. Paging Bud selig...

QUOTES:

"I was going after the ball. I wasn't focused on the wall."--Kielty. Alright, enough already, we love you!

"I don't know if he was just trying to throw inside but I just took it personally." Cabrera on Tavrez. To which Julie responded "lighten up, Francis."