A strange challenge awaiting

After getting stifled by Josh Beckett in last night's 4-0 loss to the Red Sox in Game 1 of the best-of-five American League Division Series, the Angels will have a day to rest and recover and try to figure out how best to deal with Boston's starter tomorrow: Daisuke Matsuzaka.

It will be Matsuzaka's first postseason appearance and the first time the Angels have faced him. According to Angels manager Mike Scioscia, that gives the Sox righthander the upper hand.

"I think when you first face a pitcher, there's probably a slight advantage to the pitcher, just in picking up release points, picking up spin on a ball, picking up where the ball is breaking, if it's a late break or more of a slurve, what his arm speed is like," said Scioscia, who will send Kelvim Escobar (18-7, 3.40 ERA) to oppose Matsuzaka (15-12, 4.40).

"There are so many things you can pick up in the batter's box," Scioscia added. "But you need to be in the batter's box to pick those up."

The Angels are thus faced with the challenge of beating a pitcher they've never faced in order to even up the series before heading back to Anaheim, Calif.

"We're going to make a quick study and see exactly what's happening [with Matsuzaka]," Scioscia said. "You know his tendencies on what counts; that's easy. But still to hit the ball, and to pick it up and lock in on a pitcher, it's going to take - well, you can't substitute. You're going to have to get in that batter's box and see it, so we'll have to make a quick study."

They'll have to wait

The Angels were shut out for the second time in their postseason history. The first time came in an 8-0 loss to Baltimore in Game 4 of the 1979 AL Championship Series. The Halos are 1-7 in playoff games at Fenway Park and 0-4 in the first game of the Division Series. Now, for the first time, there's a day off between Games 1 and 2.

"I'm going to be honest with you, this is a weird setup," Scioscia said. "And the fact that this is a five-game series [that] stretches out so long, we'll see, you know, if it affects any team. It's certainly going to let you reset your bullpen easier. It wasn't a factor tonight with either team.

"We want to get out there, obviously, and I think our guys are disappointed at the offensive effort. I know they are," Scioscia added. "But at times, you've got to tip your cap, and it was a terrific game that Beckett pitched."

One and done

Chone Figgins opened the game with a single and reached third before being stranded. The Angels didn't come close to mounting another threat as Beckett retired 19 consecutive batters before giving up a single to Vladimir Guerrero in the seventh. "Whether you're going to score runs or not, you're going to have to play the game as it unfolds," Scioscia said. "And we had a chance in the first inning, obviously, when Chone led off with a base hit to try and get a little offense going. Then after that, I don't know how many [Beckett] retired - 15, 16, 17 straight, however many it was. We didn't have too many good looks at him, so you knew it was going to be tough." . . . In his last outing at Fenway, Aug. 17, last night's loser, John Lackey, was roughed up for seven runs (six earned) on a season-high 11 hits in four innings, his shortest (and ugliest) stint of the season. "The first time I pitched against 'em here, I pitched OK; we didn't score any runs," Lackey said, referring to a 10-1 loss to Tim Wakefield April 13 at Fenway, where Lackey is now 1-5 for his career. "The second time, I got beat up pretty good [Aug. 17]. And this time it was somewhere in between. When you're going against a lineup like that, you're going to have to pitch well and you need a little help."