Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009

ANAHEIM (AP) With Jered Weaver picking up right where John Lackey left off for the Los Angeles Angels, not even Josh Beckett could keep the Boston Red Sox from the brink of playoff elimination.

Formidable: Jered Weaver of the Angels fires a pitch against the Red Sox in Game 2 of their ALDS on Friday night. Los Angeles beat Boston 4-1 to take a 2-0 lead in the series. AP PHOTO

Weaver yielded two hits while dominating Boston into the eighth inning, and Maicer Izturis drove home the tiebreaking run in Los Angeles' 4-1 victory over the Red Sox on Friday night, extending the Angels' first-round lead to 2-0.

Game 3 is early Sunday at Fenway Park, with Boston's Clay Buchholz facing Angels newcomer Scott Kazmir.

Erick Aybar followed Izturis' RBI single with a two-run triple during Los Angeles' two-out rally in the seventh to break up a stellar pitching duel between Weaver and Beckett, Boston's ace and most reliable playoff performer.

"These two guys were matching each other pitch for pitch," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "I thought we did a really good job of staying focused, settling down. . . . The only way we're going to beat good pitching is to pitch with them, and we were able to do that the first couple of nights."

Aybar's hit chased Beckett, who yielded five hits and four runs in 6 2/3 innings during his first playoff loss in a Red Sox uniform. It was his first defeat in nine postseason starts since Game 3 of the 2003 World Series with Florida.

Boston eliminated Los Angeles in three of the past five postseasons, but it has mustered just one run and eight hits in the series' first two games.

"We've had a tough time these last two games swinging the bat, that's an understatement," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said.

After Lackey and Darren Oliver combined to blank Boston 5-0 in the series opener, Weaver was better than Beckett, the 2003 World Series MVP, in just his second postseason start.

Although the Red Sox scored their only run of the series in the fourth on Victor Martinez's RBI single, Weaver limited wild-card Boston to just four baserunners before leaving in the eighth with a flourish, raising his cap to the cheering Orange County crowd.

"It's always nice going up against a lineup like that," Weaver said. "You know that if you make any mistakes, they're going to hurt you. . . . Hopefully these two (wins) will carry us into Boston with some positive momentum."

His Los Angeles teammates backed him up at the plate and out of the bullpen — albeit just barely.

Boston got the tying run to the plate in the ninth with Kevin Youkilis doubled off Kevin Jepsen and Jason Bay drew a two-out walk from Brian Fuentes.

Although Red Sox fans might have conjured visions of Dave Henderson's memorable ninth-inning homer for the Red Sox in Anaheim in Game 5 of the 1986 AL Championship Series, Fuentes retired Mike Lowell on a fly to center for the save.

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