HALO IS OFF THESE ANGELS RED SOX CAP SWEEP AT FENWAY BOSTON 9, ANGELS 3.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

BOSTON - They will continue trying because it beats the alternative.

``If we have 50-something games left,'' mused Angels closer Troy Percival, ``we might as well go out and try to win all 50 of 'em.''

Actually, there's just 49 games left in this listless championship defense. And after the Angels' 9-3 loss Thursday to the Boston Red Sox, who completed a three-game sweep at Fenway Park, the signs of gloom were as present as the steady drizzle that fell throughout the game.

The Angels are 4-17 since the All-Star break. They have lost five games in a row, their second five-game skid in three weeks.

They are now 53-60, seven games below .500 for the first time since their much-discussed 6-14 start to the 2002 season. And instead of a championship defense, their season is looking more and more like the 2001 campaign, when they finished the season by losing 19 of their last 21.

Their Gold Glove-winning leaders, catcher Bengie Molina and center fielder Darin Erstad, weren't around for the finish Thursday. Erstad's right hamstring is aggravated again, putting the rest of his season in doubt, and Molina took a foul tip off the bat of David Ortiz directly on his right thumb, forcing him from the game in the third inning.

X-rays on Molina's thumb were negative, but he'll probably miss this weekend's four-game series at Cleveland.

Ramon Ortiz, who looked to be their most dependable starter, now has been shelled in two of his past three outings and got raked for seven hits, seven runs and three homers in three innings Thursday.

After Molina's brother, Jose, jogged in to replace Bengie, David Ortiz got back in the box and drilled another fat offering from Ortiz into the right- field seats, his second homer of the game, and it completed the seven-run trouncing of the Angels starter.

Ortiz (13-9) produced four consecutive quality starts to run his record to 12-7 and lower his ERA to 4.09 on July 22. Now, after giving up at least six earned runs for the second time in three starts, Ortiz's ERA is back up to 4.58 which, unfortunately for the Angels, still ranks as the best among their regular starters.

And given that five regulars in Boston's lineup are hitting .297 or better, it's little wonder Angels starters John Lackey, Aaron Sele and Ortiz yielded 19 earned runs in the series while completing just 12 1/3 innings, a 13.86 ERA.

``This team hits everything,'' Ortiz said of the Red Sox (67-46). ``I make a good pitch, I make a bad pitch, they hit everything.''

The same can't be said of the Angels. They scratched out eight hits against John Burkett (9-5) and two relievers, but per usual, the production came mostly from solo home runs, off the bats of Bengie Molina and Tim Salmon.

The pitching is ill. The lineup that finished Thursday's game was minus four starters. The only positive sign comes from the schedule, which says the Angels play 30 consecutive games against American League Central teams, a division the Angels are 10-1 against this season and 30-15 last season.

Gabe Lacques, [phone]

gabe.lacques(at)sgvn.com