(My Sportsbook) - After back-to-back losses to the Anaheim Angels in Fenway, the Boston Red Sox will attempt to salvage the finale of their weekend set this afternoon. In the second game of the series yesterday, three errors helped lead to a 6-2 loss to the Angels. Damian Jackson posted three hits for the Red Sox, who led 2-0 but lost for the sixth time in 20 home games. Boston's Nomar Garciaparra homered and extended his hitting streak to 18 games, the longest active streak in the majors. Garciaparra tied Magglio Ordonez for the second-longest hitting streak this season. Pitching in front of the Fenway crowd for Boston today will be John Burkett. the veteran righty, who is 1-2 this season with a disappointing 6.04 ERA, is coming off Tuesday's no-decision against Texas. In that contest, Burkett allowed four earned runs on six hits in seven innings of work. Although his only start against Anaheim this season resulted in defeat, Burkett is 6-3 all-time against the Angels with a 3.71 ERA. Losses in the first two games of this series have prevented the Red Sox from taking over first place in the AL East. Like Boston, front-running New York has lost back-to-back contests. Boston owns an impressive .288 batting average as a team this season, and the Red Sox are allowing opponents to hit .273 overall.
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