So for those scoring at home, Boston's 3-2, walkoff victory on Monday was the third time that the Red Sox have eliminated the Angels from the division series (2004 and 2007 were the others), a fact that did not sit well with LA starter John Lackey. In fact, Lackey insisted after the game that Boston was more lucky than good.
"We lost to a team that's not better than us," growled pitcher John Lackey, who gave up two runs and seven hits in seven innings. "We are a better team than they are. The last two days, we shouldn't have given up anything."
It wasn't so much Scioscia's squeeze call and Erick Aybar's missed bunt attempt that irked Lackey after the 100-win Angels, who had the best record in baseball and seemed built for a long October run, lost the series, three games to one. "That's our style of baseball," Lackey said. "That got us here."
"[Sunday] night they scored three runs on a pop fly that was called a hit, which was a joke," Lackey said, referring to Ellsbury's pop that fell between center fielder Torii Hunter and second baseman Howie Kendrick in Game 3. "[Monday] night they scored on a broken-bat ground ball and a fly ball that anywhere else in America is an out, and he's fist-pumping on second base like he did something great." Asked to describe his feelings, Lackey said, "Like I want to throw somebody through a wall."
Red Sox Send Angels Home Again [Los Angeles Times]