An imperfect 10 for Angels

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There was a mistake pitch by John Lackey. A whiff on a fly ball by Gary Matthews Jr. A baserunning blunder by Vladimir Guerrero. And a rare ninth-inning collapse by setup man Scot Shields.

All of this misfortune contributed to the Angels’ 4-1 loss to Boston at Angel Stadium in Game 1 of the American League division series. It was the Angels’ 10th consecutive postseason loss against Boston, and their eighth straight playoff defeat overall.

The most groan-inducing mistake came in the eighth inning from Guerrero, who had singled through the left side of the infield with one out. But his inability to track Torii Hunter’s bloop that fell in fair territory down the right-field line for a single resulted in Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis collecting the ball and throwing out Guerrero at third base.

Instead of having runners on first and second with one out, the Angels had a runner at first with two out, and Howie Kendrick subsequently grounded into an inning-ending fielder’s choice.

The Red Sox had erased a one-run deficit in the sixth inning when Jason Bay whacked a 90-mph offering from Lackey over the left-field wall. Lackey had been stellar to that point, stranding all three runners who had reached scoring position.

Matthews played a seemingly routine fly ball by Jacoby Ellsbury into a three-base error in the seventh when he reached out and failed to make the catch, losing the ball at the last second. Reliever Darren Oliver stranded Ellsbury at third when he struck out David Ortiz.

Shields, trying to keep the Angels within striking distance in the ninth, allowed three hits and two runs before being replaced by Jose Arredondo.

All things considered, not a fortuitous start for the Angels, who must win Game 2 on Friday to avoid returning to Boston in a two-games-to-none hole.

-- Ben Bolch