Trumbo, Aybar lead Angels to Game 1 victory

BOSTON -- Tommy Hanson's escalating pitch count didn't allow him to come out for the sixth inning, and Garrett Richards couldn't complete the ninth, prompting Mike Scioscia to use his bullpen more than he would have liked in Game 1 of Saturday's split doubleheader at Fenway Park.

Most important, though, the Angels won, 9-5, beating the first-place Red Sox for the ninth straight time, thanks in large part to the four-run seventh inning that provided a necessary cushion.

Nursing a one-run lead in the top of the seventh, Albert Pujols -- who earlier drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and lined a single -- was intentionally walked with Mike Trout on second, two outs and first base open. It marked the seventh time he was given a free pass this year and the first time it came with Josh Hamilton not on deck.

The next batter, Mark Trumbo, lined an RBI double down the right-field line, and shortly after that, Red Sox lefty reliever Franklin Morales lost control, issuing three straight walks -- and at one point throwing 10 straight balls -- to plate an additional two runs. Erick Aybar, hitting eighth as part of a drastic lineup change that had Hamilton batting second and pushed Trout back to the leadoff spot, then added an RBI single off Clayton Mortensen to give the Angels a 7-2 lead.

"Just the way Pujols was swinging the bat against left-handers, out of respect for that," Red Sox manager John Farrell said of his reason for walking Pujols. "We were still in a one-run game, and unfortunately it got away from us."

After recording five outs, Richards gave up three two-out, ninth-inning runs on an RBI single by Mike Carp and a two-run double by Stephen Drew. But Ernesto Frieri came out of the bullpen, struck out Jacoby Ellsbury, stranded two runners and ended the game.

With that, the Angels (27-34) won at Fenway Park for a franchise-record sixth straight time and tied a club record with nine straight wins overall against the Red Sox (37-25). During the latter stretch, they've outscored Boston, 72-37.

The Angels were coming off losing five of six at home to the lowly Astros and Cubs and are starting a nine-game stretch against three AL East opponents -- the Red Sox, Orioles and Yankees -- that entered Saturday a combined 29 games over .500.

"It was a good offensive day on a lot of fronts," Scioscia said. "Their pitchers were missing some spots, and we were disciplined enough to get into some good counts to hit or draw walks. And we scored a lot of runs with two outs, which was good to break the game open in the seventh inning."

Making his second start since being activated off the restricted list, Hanson gave up only two runs while scattering seven hits, walking four batters and throwing 114 pitches on seven days' rest. The Red Sox put two runners on against him in each of the first three innings, but none of them scored. On three occasions, Hanson retired David Ortiz with two on -- twice via strikeout.

"I was having to make adjustments on the fly," said Hanson, now 3-2 with a 4.12 ERA in seven starts. "My mechanics and my pitches weren't coming easy to me today. I was fighting to have to make those pitches and hit my spots."

Trout, batting leadoff for the first time since April 10, went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles off the very top of the Green Monster. Hamilton, batting second for the first time since his rookie year of 2007, went 1-for-4 with a walk, a double and a strikeout.