Red Sox 2, Angels 5: Spoilers We Ain't

Those fans of the Los Angeles Angels looking to give thanks for Boston's efforts to help their team into the playoffs can send appreciation to 4 Yawkey Way, Boston, Massachusetts.

Preferred forms of appreciation include good starting pitchers--preferably young and under team control--and Mike Trouts.

Alternatively you could just take John Lackey back, contract and all.

Going 0-for-6 against the Angels any year is...disheartening, to say the least. Going 0-6 against the Angels in such a short stretch of time is brutal.

Thursday's loss can't even be chalked up to just a bad roster, either, since it was Jon Lester giving up the five runs in the first four innings. Yes, he ended up pitching the full eight for the Red Sox, which makes the five earned slightly less egregious, and a couple of those came across in the fourth on a bunch of ground balls.

Still, after three clearly positive starts for Lester, having this game pop up is an ill omen. The Sox need Lester to be good next year--far better than he was in 2012--and it will certainly help inspire confidence if Lester manages to get outs heading into the offseason. The bad outing still leaves him with just a 3.12 ERA in August, but it's a disappointment, to say the least.

On the "bright side", four of the teams within reach of the Sox draft position wise won. If the Sox have to lose, they may as well gain some ground, even if it's in a less-than-ideal direction.