Red Sox botch it; lead is cut to five

No legalities required. Guilty as charged.

A line drive over Wily Mo Peña's head. Coco Crisp throwing a rainbow to home plate. Tim Wakefield walking the leadoff man after being handed the lead. Julio Lugo stumbling over his own feet and botching a double-play ball for the second straight night. Manny Ramírez missing another cutoff man while a run scored. Kevin Youkilis bobbling a ball, losing a chance for a force at second. Manny Delcarmen undone by two balls, one that barely made it to the mound, the other a trickle in front of the plate. Third base coach DeMarlo Hale waving Mike Lowell home with no outs and the Sox down by three. Crisp again, playing soccer in center and kicking away his club-record errorless streak.

And there they are, the New York Yankees, now a mere five games behind the Sox, the closest the American League East race has been since May 2, and a far cry from the 14 1/2 games the Bombers were in arrears back on May 29.

"I'm not surprised," said Wakefield, who didn't record an out before being dismissed in a five-run Angels fifth in which the home team sent 11 men to the plate. "They're too good a team to be playing as bad as they were. We've been playing .500 ball for the last month and a half. We've got to pick up the pace."

By winning each of their last five series, the Sox had looked like a team bent on retaining the best record in the league. But last night, as they lost for the second straight time, they stumbled badly against the Angels, who are No. 2 in the league, with a bullet. The Angels, who run at will, thrive on taking the extra base, and live to put pressure on the opposition defense, did most of their damage after the Sox seized a 4-2 lead in the top of the fifth on Doug Mirabelli's towering two-run home run, a bloop single by Dustin Pedroia, and a double by Youkilis.

"It happened in a hurry," Francona said. "The way they're so aggressive in all aspects of the game -- hitting, running the bases -- when you play them, the game is played at a fast pace. If you're not ready for it, they run you into mistakes."