Angels Defeat Red Sox 21-2: Stats, Highlights and Reaction

The Los Angeles Angels appropriately began the Fourth of July holiday weekend with a bang, defeating the Boston Red Sox 21-2 on Saturday at Fenway Park.

Fox Sports: MLB might have discovered the source of Los Angeles' explosion:

The bulk of the Angels' scoring came in the top of the seventh inning, when they dropped 11 runs on Boston. C.J. Cron and Carlos Perez both hit two-run home runs in the frame, while Albert Pujols drove in three runs with a double.

SportsCenter shared the play-by-play of the destruction:

What was perhaps the most surprising was that the Angels scored 20-plus runs without Mike Trout bringing a single runner home. Trout went 2-for-5, and Sporting News' Jesse Spector couldn't believe the 2014 American League MVP didn't get in on the fun:

Cron tied a franchise record, going 6-for-6 with two homers, five RBI and five runs scored. According to Stats researcher Anthony Masterson, Chone Figgins is the only other Angels player who has posted six hits in a nine-inning game.

Perez finished one hit short of matching Cron, going 5-for-6 while leading the team with six RBI. Pujols tacked on another five RBI while going 2-for-5.

The Angels' rout couldn't have come at a worse time for Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz, who had allowed seven combined earned runs in his last two starts. He exited Saturday's contest after 4.1 innings, having surrendered six runs, three of which were earned.

ESPN.com's Scott Lauber thinks Boston's earlier optimism about the veteran right-hander is looking worse as the season progresses:

"

Dombrowski on Dec. 8: "Buchholz has top-of-the-rotation, upper-rotation stuff, and he's pitched that way." Biggest offseason miscalculation?

— Scott Lauber (@ScottLauber) July 3, 2016"

While the heavy defeat counts for only one loss, it's not the kind of response Red Sox fans wanted to see after the team went 10-16 in June.

At least Boston has the chance to move on quickly, as the Red Sox and Angels will wrap up their series Sunday at 1:35 p.m. ET.