David Ortiz was 1-for-4, and has gone 137 at-bats since his last home run on Sept. 22 against at Fenway Park. He is eight at-bats away from equaling his longest dry spell at any point of a season during his big league career, which included parts of six seasons with Minnesota.
Angels RHP Ervin Santana, sidelined since opening day because of a sprained elbow, will make his season debut in Thursday's matinee against Brad Penny. ... Angels RHP John Lackey will make his season debut on Saturday, a year and two days after making his first start of 2008. Lackey, who had never been on the disabled list in his first six big league campaigns, sat out the first 41 games last season with a strained triceps and has been sidelined this season because of a forearm strain.
The Angels have discovered a foolproof method for preventing their relievers from fouling things up in the later innings: Take them out of the equation.
Matt Palmer, a 30-year-old right-hander who nearly quit Baseball three years ago, threw the team's third complete game in seven days, retiring the last 19 batters in a row, to lead the Angels to an 8-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night.
In his seventh big league start, Palmer gave up four runs and three hits in the first two innings but blanked Boston on one hit over the next seven innings to improve to 4-0 on the season.
Mike Napoli keyed a five-run third inning with a three-run home run, and Torii Hunter added a solo shot in the fourth, but it was Palmer who stole the spotlight in Angel Stadium.
"It's amazing," said Palmer, who played seven seasons in the minors before reaching the big leagues last August with San Francisco. "To do it against Boston is even better. I loved pitching in New York, but this is an amazing stadium, too. I love the park, the fans. It was a great feeling."
Palmer gave up two runs and five hits over 11 2/3 innings of his previous two starts, wins over the Yankees and Royals, but it looked like he might not make it out of the second inning Wednesday.
Jason Bay crushed a two-run home run in the first, and a pair of walks set the table for Boston's two-run second, which featured Nick Green's run-scoring double and Jacoby Ellsbury's RBI groundout that made it 4-0.
But shortstop Erick Aybar made a nice bare-handed grab and throw to first on Julio Lugo's grounder to end the second, stranding Green at third, and Palmer was virtually untouchable from that point on.
Bay singled with one out in the third but was rubbed out on Mike Lowell's double-play grounder. Palmer did not allow another baserunner, completing the game with 109 pitches, 73 of them strikes, including a sidearm curve that whiffed Lowell to end the game.
"He went a little Laredo on him," Manager Mike Scioscia said of Palmer's last pitch. "He changed some arm angles, gave hitters different looks. After the first two innings, he settled in, made the adjustments. Matt made a statement today. His stuff stayed strong."
