Roles reversed for Sox, Angels

Los Angeles is looking to avenge last year’s three-game sweep by Boston.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — One of the biggest bats in the lineup is gone, the designated hitter had his worst season in years and injuries have made two starters questionable.

Sound familiar?

Only this season it’s the Boston Red Sox, who suddenly look a lot like last year’s Los Angeles Angels heading into the teams’ first-round playoff series. Game 1 is tonight, with Jon Lester on the mound for Boston against John Lackey.

Hobbled by injuries to outfielders Gary Matthews Jr., Vladimir Guerrero, Garret Anderson and pitcher Bartolo Colon, the Angels got swept out of the 2007 AL division series by the Red Sox, who hustled through Anaheim on their way to a World Series championship.

“We’re a deeper club right now and hopefully we’re going to see it,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Tuesday. “Last year against Boston, we were a skeleton club and we didn’t play well.”

This time around, the Red Sox are beaten up.

Manny Ramirez is gone, traded to the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers; David Ortiz’s numbers are way down; and injuries to hitters Mike Lowell (left hip) and J.D. Drew (back) and Game 3 starter Josh Beckett are concerns.

“We’re not looking to win a World Series now. We’re looking to win Game 1,” Boston first baseman Kevin Youkilis said. “You throw everything away from the regular season. Tomorrow is a new day.”

The Red Sox would obviously like to forget their 1-8 record against the Angels this season, including a sweep at Fenway Park in July when Lackey took a no-hitter into the ninth inning.

It’s been just the opposite in the postseason, where Boston has dominated the Angels with a 9-0 record dating to the 1986 AL championship series, tying the longest postseason winning streak against one team.

“Some of these guys weren’t even born,” Scioscia said. “I don’t think we’re going back that far.”

The Angels head into the opener looking like the team to beat. They wrapped up the AL West title — their fourth in five years — 2 1/2 weeks before the season ended and finished with a franchise-best 100-62 record that was tops in the majors.

Lackey (12-5) also pitched Game 1 last year at Boston, losing 4-0 to Beckett.

“They had a couple of personnel changes, but still a formidable offense,” he said. “We’re going to have to do the same thing that we failed to do last year.”

Boston manager Terry Francona wasn’t ready to say whether Lowell, last year’s World Series MVP, and Drew would be in the starting lineup for Game 1. He planned to decide after seeing how both of them came out of the team’s workout Tuesday.

If Francona is forced to juggle his lineup, one thing’s for sure — Ortiz won’t be moved from designated hitter to first base.

“That wouldn’t put our best team on the field,” he said.

Beckett, whose strained right oblique muscle pushed him back to Game 3 instead of the opener, will start just once in the best-of-five series instead of twice.

The right-hander did some throwing Tuesday and will play long toss today, with a final decision expected Thursday.

“The ball came out of his hand real well,” Francona said. “We think he’s going to pitch.”