"You go out there and you play the game,'' explained Hunter. "You don't know if you're going to get it done. You just try your best and have some heart about yourself and go out there and play the game the best way you know how.''

The loss, while hardly catastrophic, puts the Red Sox in unfamiliar territory. Since being swept by the Chicago White Sox in the 2005 ALDS, Boston had won Game 1 in its last five postseason series — until Thursday.

For the first time in four postseason series meetings with the Angels, the Red Sox find themselves playing from behind.

"I don't think it's that bad,'' said first baseman Kevin Youkilis. "If we come out (Friday) and win a game, it gives us an opportunity to go home and play where we play the best. In these short series, it's always good to play home. So, for us, it's about bouncing back and trying to win and going back to Fenway, where we love to play.''

"We've been here before,'' added Dustin Pedroia. "We lost the first game. You don't win one and series over. That's not how it goes.''

But unless the BoSox can get a strong start from Josh Beckett in Game 2 and gain a split in Anaheim, they'll be forced to repeat their 2003 ALDS magic when they survived two cross-country plane trips to win three straight elimination games.