No O

Josh Beckett may have wilted in the seventh inning but, really, is anyone going to blame the pitching for the 0-2 deficit the Red Sox now face in their ALDS against the Angels.

It’s the offense, silly.

Two games. One run.

That’s not going to cut it.

The Angels beat Boston 4-1 Friday night (Saturday morning) and now the Red Sox must summon the ghosts of 2003 (when they overcame an 0-2 start to beat Oakland in the ALDS).

Boston got its only run in the fourth inning on a Jacoby Ellsbury triple and Victor Martinez RBI single.

The Angels also scored in the fourth (single, hit-and-run single, sacrifice fly) and then took the lead in the seventh.

Vladimir Guerrero led off the seventh with a walk. Howie Kenrick pinch-ran and stole second. With two outs, he scored on Maicer Izturis’ single for a 2-1 lead. Small ball.

Then the floodgates opened and the Angels got two more runs.

After the game, Red Sox manager Terry Francona talked about “the way they were limiting our offense.”

The Angels pitching is stifling Boston.

What will Boston do?

“What we’ll try to do is win the next game we play. It’s what we always do,” Francona told the media gathered after the game.

We’ll see.