Los Angeles @ Boston preview

Last Meeting ( May 3, 2010 ) LA Angels 8, Boston 17

For at least one night, Fenway Park proved to be a safe haven for the Boston Red Sox.

Needing to rebound from a weekend sweep in Baltimore, the Red Sox kicked off a 10-game homestand in rousing fashion Monday night, clubbing the reeling Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim by the football-like score of 17-8.

Boston launched four home runs and put up season highs in both runs and hits (20) in thrashing the Angels in the opener of this four-game set.

Mind you, Boston is still two games under .500 for both the season (12-14) and at home (6-8), but the Red Sox desperately needed to get untracked against Los Angeles, which is mired in a four-game skid and is winless on its current 10-game road trip.

Not to mention the last time the Angels were seen in these parts, they were celebrating on the Fenway Park infield after sweeping the Red Sox in the American League Division Series a year ago.

Much has changed for both clubs since – and none of it for the better. Were it not for playing in the moribund AL West, the Angels could be reaching for the panic button.

As it stands, the Angels (12-15) are still treading water, sitting just two games out of first place despite being three games below .500.

Los Angeles lost an elite starter in John Lackey via free agency (to Boston of all places) and watched its offense take a hit with the departures of big bopper Vladimir Guerrero and the speedy Chone Figgins.

So it’s hardly surprising that the Angels ranked 11th in the American League in runs scored and 11th in team ERA (4.75) entering the series with the Red Sox.

They did show a pulse offensively Monday night after being limited to just three runs in the final two games of their weekend sweep by the Detroit Tigers.

Cleanup batter Kendry Morales had three more hits to boost his team-leading batting average to .323 and Howie Kendrick drove in a pair of runs while raising his lifetime average at Fenway to a robust .435 (20-of-46).

Ervin Santana gets the start on Monday and will be looking to quiet an offense that produced 20 hits Monday night. Santana is 1-2 on the season and has had a string of so-so outings aside from a complete-game gem against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 18.

He’ll be opposed by left-hander Jon Lester, who is coming off his finest effort of the year - seven innings of one-hit ball against Toronto.

But Lester has had trouble with the Angels in four career starts, yielding 17 runs and 33 hits in 19 2/3 innings over four starts.

J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell each had four hits in Monday’s win for Boston, but Lowell will likely sit against the right-handed Santana. Drew has been on a tear with nine hits, including three homers, in his last 17 at-bats.