ANAHEIM, Calif. - Jason Bay flipped his bat onto the grass, and made a move toward first base. Then the realization came over his face that home plate umpire Bill Miller had called him out on strikes for the first out of the seventh inning. Bay, who rarely reacts, reacted. But it was a game-long problem, a strike zone that was called ``expanded'' and ``inconsistent'' by the Red Sox , and one that led to manager Terry Francona being ejected for arguing in the top of the 10th inning.

``I thought it was a ball, just like the other time this year I reacted like that,'' Bay said. ``Ultimately, it's not my decision. We thought there were a few questionable calls, but it's not the umpire's fault we left 17 guys on base. I think that was just kind of a side note. Everyone has their own interpretation. But I thought that ball was outside.''

He wasn't the only one. The Sox went down on called third strikes a whopping 10 times in the 12 innings, with every starter except Dustin Pedroia and Julio Lugo getting rung up at least once.

``Obviously, the strike zone was a little expanded,'' Pedroia said. ``[Francona] wouldn't be upset if it wasn't. But it was for the Angels, too. It's not a one-sided deal. Maybe they expanded their zone with two strikes a little bit more than we did. Maybe that's the reason they won the game.''

Francona's explanation for getting tossed: ``I just thought his plate was inconsistent. I don't enjoy going out there yelling, but just didn't agree with a lot of it.''

That might not have been the reason the Sox lost, but it didn't help.

``It was tough,'' Pedroia said. ``When you have a good at-bat and you feel that the pitch is a ball and they call it a strike, that's frustrating. It happens to everybody. It's part of the game.''

Back in the swing

Pedroia missed just two games with his strained groin, but he looked no worse for the wear, going 4 for 6 with two doubles and a walk. It was the eighth time this season he had three or more hits, and his third four-hit game, as he raised his batting average to .336.

He got some help, too.

Pedroia's third-inning double, after which he scored, was initially ruled foul by first base umpire Derryl Cousins. But the crew got together quickly and made the correct call, reversing the decision. However, Pedroia got robbed in the 10th inning. With Jacoby Ellsbury on second base, Pedroia smoked a ball to center, which was caught by Torii Hunter on the warning track.

``That's why he's got a truckload of Gold Gloves,'' Pedroia said. ``He saved the game for them.''

``He doesn't miss a beat,'' Francona said of Pedroia. ``He just jumped right back in. The good thing is, he looked healthy. That's good to see.''

Consolation prize

Lugo tied a career high with five hits, the fourth time he's accomplished the feat, and the first time since 2004. ``I feels real good,'' Lugo said. ``I'm seeing the ball good. You still enjoy it - not as much as if we would have won.'' . . . With two innings Wednesday night in his major league debut, Daniel Bard got the butterflies out of the way. ``I thought he threw the ball well,'' Francona said before yesterday's game. ``The ball came out of his hand well. It's nice to get that out of the way. He threw close to 40 pitches, which is good. Let him get that out of his system. First outing, it's a lot of jitters. You want the ball, you want this. Now he can try to kind of get in a routine of, OK, when are they going to use me? How am I going to help?''

Coast is clear

Once this trip is finished, the Sox are done with the West Coast for the regular season. That's not the case with the rest of the contenders in the American League East. ``I think that's a huge advantage,'' Francona said. ``Not necessarily today. We don't go too far past the Mississippi. The time changes, yeah, it's great. Hopefully, you win enough now where it doesn't hurt you now, because later it should help. There's no getting around playing good Baseball, but it's nice not taking a six-hour trip.'' . . . Seattle and the Pacific Northwest bring a homecoming for quite a few Sox players. Jeff Bailey hails from Longview, Wash., Jon Lester from Tacoma, Wash., and Ellsbury from Madras, Ore. Bay is from Trail, British Columbia, but his offseason home is in Seattle . . . The Mariners' Erik Bedard will likely be scratched from his start against the Sox tomorrow because of a tight hamstring. Garrett Olson would take his place.

Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com