Angels' miscues spur Red Sox

Anaheim's errors helped Boston romp 9-3 in Game 1.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- The Anaheim Angels decided to go with their best defensive lineup in Game 1 of the AL playoffs.
The decision wound up aiding the Boston offense.
Third baseman Chone Figgins made a throwing error that led to five unearned runs in the fourth inning Tuesday, helping the Red Sox beat the Angels 9-3.
"It's tough to give a club as stacked offensively as they are extra outs, and I think we did," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.
Pedro Martinez will pitch against Anaheim's Bartolo Colon in Game 2 tonight as the Red Sox try to take a commanding 2-0 lead before the best-of-five division series moves to Boston.
Scioscia said before the opener he wanted to start a strong defensive lineup. That meant Figgins would play third base and light-hitting Alfredo Amezaga would play second for the injured Adam Kennedy.
Had Scioscia opted for more offense, Figgins would have played second and rookie Dallas McPherson third.
That's a possibility for Game 2.
Key grounder
The Red Sox led 3-0 and had the bases loaded with one out in the fourth against losing pitcher Jarrod Washburn when Johnny Damon hit a grounder just to the left of Figgins, who fielded it cleanly. But going for the force at home, he was far off target with his throw.
Two runs scored on the error. One out later, Manny Ramirez hit a three-run homer off Scot Shields to cap a seven-run burst and make it 8-0.
Even with Boston's Curt Schilling not at his best, the outcome was decided.
"We make that play and they score two runs instead of seven," Washburn said. "If that play gets made by Figgy -- and he makes that play nine times out of 10 -- it would have been a different game."
The Angels are in a familiar place, having lost series openers to the Yankees, Twins and Giants two years ago before rebounding to beat those teams en route to the World Series championship.
"Hopefully we can bounce back like we did then," Washburn said.
Schilling wins
Schilling gave up nine hits and three runs, two earned, and allowed at least one baserunner in every inning. He walked two and struck out four in 62/3 innings.
The 37-year-old right-hander entered with a 5-1 record and a 1.66 ERA in 11 previous postseason appearances.
He also tweaked his right ankle and said afterward it was a little sore. But he said he doesn't believe it will create any problems.
"We're up 1-0. Tomorrow's starters will determine momentum going into the game," Schilling said. "This is a tough place to win. But we've got Pedro going. I'm pretty excited about that."
Schilling said he felt "incredibly strong" in the bullpen before the game and had good velocity, but struggled otherwise.
"I knew I wasn't as sharp as I have been," he said. "Looking back, I made some mistakes today. I left some pitches over the plate. [But] solo home runs don't beat you."
Each team hit two homers, but Boston's produced five runs and Anaheim's only two.
"You want to go home with at least one win because you know you have only two games at home and anything can happen," Boston's David Ortiz said.
Just like the 2002 postseason, most of the fans at Angel Stadium wore red and made it noisy by banging ThunderStix. The volume level decreased significantly after the Red Sox took their big lead, and not even stuffed Rally Monkeys could help the home team.
The seven runs were the most scored by the Red Sox in an inning in the postseason and the most allowed by the Angels.
BOSTONANAHEIM
abrhbiabrhbi
Damon cf5220Figgins 3b5010
Bllhorn 2b4000Erstad 1b4131
Reese 2b0000VGrero rf5000
MRmrz lf5223GAndsn cf4100
DOrtiz dh3111Glaus dh3132
Millar 1b4122DVnon lf3000
Mntkw 1b1011ARiggs lf1000
Varitek c5110BMolna c4010
OCbera ss3110Eckstin ss4010
Mueller 3b4000Amzga 2b1000
Kapler rf5110Mcphrs 3b3000
Totals399117Totals37393
Boston100700010--9
Anaheim000100200--3
E--Schilling (1), Figgins (1). LOB--Boston 9, Anaheim 9. 2B--Damon (1), MRamirez (1), Glaus 2 (2). HR--MRamirez (1), Millar (1), Erstad (1), Glaus (1). SB--Damon (1), Figgins (1).
IPHRERBBSO
Boston
Schilling W,1-06 2-393224
Embree1-300000
Timlin200003
Anaheim
Washburn L,0-13 1-357333
Shields1 2-311112
Gregg230010
ROrtiz221110
WP--Gregg. Umpires--Home, Larry Young; First, Jerry Meals; Second, Brian Runge; Third, Gary Cederstrom; Left, Ed Montague; Right, Kerwin Danley. T--3:04. A--44,608.