A capsule look at the Red Sox-Angels playoff series

Monday, Oct. 4, 2004 | 10:11 a.m.

A look at the best-of-five American League division series between the Boston Red Sox and Anaheim Angels:

Schedule:@ (All times Eastern) Game 1, Tuesday, at Anaheim (4:09 p.m., ESPN); Game 2, Wednesday, at Anaheim (10:09 p.m., ESPN); Game 3, Friday, at Boston (4:09 p.m., ESPN); x-Game 4, Saturday, at Boston (TBA); x-Game 5, Sunday, at Anaheim (TBA).

x-if necessary.

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Season Series:@ Boston won 5-4.

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Projected Lineups

Red Sox:@ CF Johnny Damon (.304, 20 HRs, 94 RBIs, 123 runs, 19 SBs), 2B Mark Bellhorn (.264, 17, 82, 177 Ks), LF Manny Ramirez (.308, 43, 130), DH David Ortiz (.301, 41, 139), 1B Kevin Millar (.297, 18, 74), RF Trot Nixon (.315, 6, 23 in 48 games), C Jason Varitek (.296, 18, 73), SS Orlando Cabrera (.294, 6, 31 in 58 games after trade from Montreal), 3B Bill Mueller (.283, 12, 57).

Angels:@ 2B Chone Figgins (.296, 5 HRs, 60 RBIs, 34 SBs), 1B Darin Erstad (.295, 7, 69), RF Vladimir Guerrero (.337, 39, 126, 124 runs), CF Garret Anderson (.301, 14, 75), DH Troy Glaus (.251, 18, 42 in 207 ABs), LF Jeff DaVanon (.277, 7, 34, 18 SBs) or Adam Riggs (.194, 0, 3), SS David Eckstein (.276, 2, 35, 16 SBs), C Bengie Molina (.276, 10, 54), 2B Alfredo Amezaga (.161, 2, 11) or Dallas McPherson (.225, 3, 6).

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Projected Rotations

Red Sox:@ RH Curt Schilling (21-6, 3.26 ERA, 203 strikeouts), RH Pedro Martinez (16-9, 3.90, 227), RH Tim Wakefield (12-10, 4.87), RH Bronson Arroyo (10-9, 4.03).

Angels:@ LH Jarrod Washburn (11-8, 4.64), RH Bartolo Colon (18-12, 5.01), RH Kelvim Escobar (11-12, 3.93, 191 Ks), RH John Lackey (14-13, 4.67).

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Relievers

Red Sox:@ RH Keith Foulke (5-3, 2.13, 32/39 saves), RH Mike Timlin (5-4, 4.13), RH Derek Lowe (14-12, 5.42), LH Alan Embree (2-2, 4.13), RH Curtis Leskanic (3-5, 5.19), LH Mike Myers (5-1, 4.64).

Angels:@ RH Troy Percival (2-3, 2.90 ERA, 33/38 saves), RH Francisco Rodriguez (4-1, 1.82, 12 saves, 123 Ks in 84 innings), RH Scot Shields (8-2, 3.33, 4 saves), RH Brendan Donnelly (5-2, 3.00), RH Ramon Ortiz (5-7, 4.43), RH Kevin Gregg (5-2, 4.21).

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Matchups

Met in 1986 ALCS, with Boston pulling off a stirring rally from a 3-1 deficit. Down to its last strike in Game 5, Dave Henderson homered in the ninth inning off Donnie Moore to begin the comeback. ... Red Sox finished off a three-game sweep at Fenway Park in early September. ... Guerrero pummeled Boston pitching with three homers and 14 RBIs. He set a team record with nine RBIs in a game Martinez started in June, with two homers, a double and single. ... Martinez came back to beat the Angels in July. ... Ortiz had nine RBIs vs. Anaheim, Ramirez had three home runs and eight RBIs. ... Schilling went 2-0. ... Eckstein (.472) and Erstad (.462) hit well. ... Foulke recorded three saves with a 0.00 ERA. ... Lackey is 0-4 in six career starts vs. Boston.

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Big Picture

Red Sox:@ Became the first team in major league history to finish second in seven straight years. They've come in behind New York each time, making the playoffs this year as the wild card. ... Renewing quest to win their first World Series title since 1918. ... Led majors with 949 runs and 2,694 total bases. Boston pitchers led the AL with a .255 batting average allowed. ... After last year's playoff debacle - an 11th-inning, Game 7 loss in the ALCS to the Yankees - the Red Sox let manager Grady Little go and replaced him with Terry Francona. They added Foulke to a bullpen that had been the team's biggest problem. And they put Schilling in front of a rotation that had relied increasingly on Martinez's aging right arm. But the biggest deal was one they couldn't close: Manny Ramirez for Alex Rodriguez, which would have allowed them to spin Nomar Garciaparra off to the White Sox for Magglio Ordonez. After predictably leading baseball in unearned runs for much of the season, Boston dealt sulking Garciaparra at the trading deadline for Cabrera and 1B Doug Mientkiewicz. ... Went 42-18, best in the majors, to finish the season. ... Did not have an injury in their starting rotation all season. ... Ortiz and Ramirez were the first AL teammates to each have at least 40 homers, a .300 batting average and 100 RBIs since Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth in 1931.

Angels:@ Guided by manager Mike Scioscia, won first AL West title in 18 years. ... Ended Oakland's run of four straight playoff appearances, including three division titles in a row. Spent most of the year chasing the Athletics and Texas. Went into the final weekend tied with the A's - won Friday and Saturday at the Coliseum to clinch. ... First postseason appearance since making it as the wild card in 2002. Anaheim won its first World Series championship that season, with Glaus the MVP in the seven-game win over San Francisco. ... Battled injuries and other problems all year, and go into the playoffs at less than full strength. Longtime standout Tim Salmon is done because of knee and shoulder problems, and 2B Adam Kennedy is out with a knee injury. OF Jose Guillen (27 HRs, 104 RBIs) was suspended at the end of the season because of a disciplinary problem, and the team did not indicate he'd be back for the playoffs. Washburn, Anderson, Erstad, Glaus and Molina were all hurt at some point. Seldom-used players such as Amezaga, Riggs, DaVanon and McPherson filled in admirably. ... Starting pitching has been shaky, but the bullpen is one of baseball's best.

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Watch For

- Vlad's vigor. Guerrero did everything the Angels hoped for when they signed him to a $70 million, five-year contract in the offseason. Now, he gets to play in the postseason for the first time; lasting impressions and reputations are made in October.

- Pedro's Payday. Martinez could be the top catch on the free-agent market this winter, but he still might take a pay cut from the $17.5 million he earned this season. After losing his last four starts for Boston, his value could depend on his ability to bounce back in the playoffs.

- Grady's Ghost. Boston manager Terry Francona won 98 games in his first season in Boston but, as Little learned last year, he'll be judged on what he does in the playoffs.