Lackey, Red Sox routed by Angels, 11-0

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By Sean McAdam
CSNNE.com

BOSTON -- On a day in which the Red Sox needed John Lackey to provide both quality and quantity, the Red Sox right-hander could offer neither.

Short on pitching after Wednesday's marathon loss, during which they used eight hurlders, the Sox got just four-plus innings from Lackey, who gave up eight runs in a one-sided beating by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 11-0.

Lackey had beaten his former team in each of the previous four times he had faced them before Thursday, but was overmatched on this occasion, allowing 10 hits, including five straight in the fourth inning. When he gave up a two-run homer to Mark Trumbo before getting a single hitter out in the fifth, he was done for the day, with his ERA soaring to 7.16.

After losing the first six head-to-head meetings with the Red Sox this season, the Angels won the final two in a row.

Meanwhile, Red Sox had just seven hits and suffered their fourth shutout in 31 games. The 11-run deficit matches the worst for the Sox this season, who also lost 16-5 to Tampa Bay on April 11.

Scott Atchison and Rich Hill, brought up for Pawtucket before the game to replace the injured Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler, took care of the final five innings.

STAR OF THE GAME: Joel Pinerio
Like the Red Sox, the Angels were hurting for pitching manpower after the 13-inning marathon Wednesday nightThursday morning. Unlike the Red Sox, the Angels had a starter do something about it.

Joel Pineiro offered 5 23 innings of shutout baseball, allowing the Red Sox just three hits, two of them singles.

Pineiro struggled with his command at times, walking four and was hardly overpowering with just two strikeouts. But he got the Angels into the sixth with a healthy lead.

HONORABLE MENTION: Erick Aybar
Aybar was a pain in the Red Sox' side all series and Thursday was no different as he had a four-hit afternoon, scored twice and knocked in a run while stealing two bases and setting the tone from the top of the Los Angeles lineup.

GOAT OF THE GAME: John Lackey
Lackey took a 4-0 career record into his start against his former teammates but they teed off on him almost from the start, knocking him around for 10 hits and eight runs over four-plusinnings.

TURNING POINT
The Angels were leading 3-0 in the fourth when Lackey got two outs. But Peter Bourjos, the No. 9 hitter, singled to keep the inning going and four more Angels followed with base hits of their own. The rout was on, with the Angels leading 6-0 before Lackey could get the elusive third out.

BY THE NUMBERS
In six starts this season, Lackey has given up six or more eanred runs in three -- or half -- of his starts.

QUOTE OF NOTE
"I definitely sensed that there was a need for me to pitch well to get some momentum going. If I had pitched better early on, I think the guys would have found a little more energy. My (inability) to pitch well definitely hurt that morale.'' -- John Lackey

Sean McAdam can be reached at smcadam@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Sean on Twitter at http:twitter.comsean_mcadam

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