BOSTON - Ah, Memorial Day weekend. The kickoff to summer. There's really no wrong way to spend it, is there?
Well, the Red Sox proved that theory false in a 39-minute span that saw their 3-2 lead turn into an 11-3 deficit.
Oh yes, we had a dandy of a half-inning Friday night at Fenway Park that made sitting in traffic before the Sagamore Bridge look like a good time.
It turns out that this was the perfect day to get away if you're a fan of the Red Sox.
Believe it or not, things actually started out well for Rick Porcello and the Sox. In fact, they even took the lead in the second inning and again in the fourth.
But there would be no coming back from the next deficit they were put in.
Porcello, who began to hit some trouble in the fourth inning, went off the rails in the fifth. He walked the No. 9 hitter Johnny Giavotella and followed that up by walking Erick Aybar.
Oh boy.
If that isn't a sign of trouble than nothing is - and sure enough, trouble was a brewin'. Up came Trout who floated one into left field just over Xander Bogaerts, scoring Giavotella. Bogaerts then threw it away, leading Aybar to score.
Just like that, the Angels had retaken the lead. They weren't done - not even close. After Albert Pujols grounded out, Trout stole third base (awesome steal, by the way). Kole Calhoun singled to drive in Trout, and then David Freese doubled to center that scored Calhoun.
With the Angels up 6-3, Porcello's night was finished.
"Came out throwing the ball as he's been last five, six times out," Farrell said of Porcello. "Starting in the fourth inning started to mislocate some pitches up in the strike zone. Then really started to accelerate in the fifth inning starting with the two leadoff walks. Like I said, you put men on base with base on balls, extra-base hits, it makes for a quick night."
It was actually Porcello's quickest night of the season, as he went just 4.1 innings, the first time this season he hasn't gone at least 5.0 innings. He also allowed seven earned runs in the game.
"I felt good when we were cruising," Porcello said. "Offense did a great job putting up runs against a great pitcher. Fifth inning, hit a wall, walked the first two guys and just couldn't recover from it . . . I take full responsibility for the loss today, it was completely on me. I gotta be better."
Porcello wasn't sharp by any means, but the Red Sox didn't have much "relief" either. Matt Barnes came on in the fifth to stop the bleeding. Instead, he sliced open the wound.
After he too walked the first batter he faced, he gave up a three-run bomb to Chris Iannetta to turn this into a 9-3 ballgame.
Next up for the Angels, Marc Krauss. Krauss weakly flied out to Rusney Castillo in right field. Whoops! No he didn't. Castillo dropped the fly ball and Krauss found himself on second base with still one out.
Now with two down in the inning, Erick Aybar stepped in . . . and into a first-pitch changeup for a two-run home run.
The Sox had seen more than enough of Barnes on the hill, and gave the ball to Robbie Ross, Jr. After Trout singled yet again, Pujols mercifully grounded into a fielder's choice - and the kickoff to summer at Fenway Park officially couldn't have gone any worse.
"Yeah a lot of negative inside the inning," Farrell said. "From a couple leadoff walks, mislocated pitches, dropped fly ball in right field. We're trying to knock down a run after a deflected ball to shortstop. Ends up an errant throw costs us a couple runs. Nine runs is a tough way to go."
All in all, it took six hits, three walks, and two errors to score those nine runs.
It's going to be a very long summer at this rate.