THE "IDIOTS" REVERSE THE CURSE
Bad start for the second half -
Sox routed in Anaheim

July 15, 2004 ...  The line drives came early and often for the Angels, who made Derek Lowe's pitches bob when they were supposed to sink, knocking him out in the fifth inning. They were no less sparing of reliever Alan Embree, who went single, RBI double, two-run single to the first three batters he faced after replacing Lowe in a five-run fifth inning that propelled the Angels to an 8-1 win last night before a sellout crowd of 43,623 in Angel Stadium.

Lowe was lifted after Bengie Molina's two-out RBI single in the fifth made it 3-1, left fielder Kevin Millar unable to cut down Darin Erstad even though he fielded the ball just as Erstad was rounding third base.

The Sox' bullpen, in one of its dimmer collective outings, absorbed more hits in the sixth. Erstad hit a two-run home run off Curtis Leskanic, accounting for the final margin and practically begging for an appearance by Ramiro Mendoza, who was activated yesterday in a move dictated by procedural necessity. Indeed, Mendoza pitched for the first time since April 7, working a 1-2-3 eighth.

The Angels, who have won all three meetings between the teams this season, moved to within a half-game of the Sox in the wild- card standings. The Sox, who have lost eight of their last nine games on the road and have been beaten in their last four road series, are off to an inauspicious start to what may be the most trying stretch of their 2004 schedule - 17 of the next 23 games on the road, with the interlude at home including a day-night doubleheader followed by three games against the Yankees.  The Bombers moved eight games ahead of the Sox in the American League East by virtue of their win over the Tigers and the Sox' loss at the hands of lefthander Jarrod Washburn, who held the Sox to three hits and an unearned run in seven innings. The four hits by the Sox were their fewest in a game since their last sojourn to the West Coast, when Jason Schmidt of the Giants threw a one-hitter June 20.

With cleanup man Manny Ramirez limited to DH duty after he informed Francona that his hamstrings were still tight, the Sox scored their only run when Bill Mueller exploited an error by third baseman Figgins with an RBI double. Ramirez did not get the ball out of the infield in his first three at-bats, grounding into a double play to end the sixth, before flying out in his last at-bat. Meanwhile, leadoff man Johnny Damon's 16-game hitting streak came to an end as he went 0 for 4, center fielder Garret Anderson running down his bid for extra bases with two on and two outs in the fifth.

Lowe was able to dodge trouble early, even as his pitch count reached alarming heights by the end of the third inning (67) and did not taper off in the fourth (94).

In a roster move forced by procedural rules that put an end to Ramiro Mendoza's rehabilitation assignment, the Sox recalled the reliever and optioned third baseman Kevin Youkilis to Pawtucket. Mendoza was on the team flight here, while Youkilis joined the PawSox in Indianapolis.