Saturday, for the Angels , the emotions were about Baseball, too - a dramatic, tension-filled, 5-4 loss to Boston that moved the team one more day past the tragic loss of teammate Nick Adenhart and one more step back into a season that won't wait.

"Today was a lot better for us," outfielder Torii Hunter said. "You know, we had the ceremony yesterday, and everything, and it was rough. Today we played Baseball."

Not badly, either.

It ended with the bases loaded, the Angels down a run, and Howie Kendrick facing one of the most dominating closers, Jonathan Papelbon. Kendrick fouled off seven consecutive 0-2 pitches - the fans on their feet and gasping, laughing and clutching their chests with each - before he smoked a line drive into right-center that Rocco Baldelli tracked down for the final out.

"I kept just missing," Kendrick said of his 10-pitch nail-biter. "I felt good about the last at-bat, even though they beat us."

Hunter said the Angels "were jumping every time Howie got a good swing. It was fun. Man, that was a Baseball game. Tense to the finish."

Same for the other side.

"I like being in those situations," said Papelbon, who helped create the drama with an uncharacteristically rocky performance. "It's fun. It makes for an exciting game."

The reason 40,163 people showed up.

The Angels , of course, will continue to manage their balancing act - accepting Adenhart's death and competing for a pennant.

"It's going to be tough knowing Nick's not here anymore," said starting pitcher Joe Saunders, whose clubhouse locker shares a wall with Adenhart's. "It's going to be hard seeing (his likeness) on the outfield wall and his number (etched in the dirt) on the mound.

"The team's dedicating the season to him. We just have to go on."

The Angels have their opponents' sympathy - right up until they cross the foul lines and the games begin. Boston had lost nine consecutive regular-season games to the Angels (the postseason season being a different story), but the Sox wouldn't surrender Saturday.

Saunders lost to the Red Sox for the first time in five decisions, mainly because he gave up two leads, both times on a two-run home run, one to Mike Lowell, one to Jason Bay.

The Angels' offense came mostly from catcher Mike Napoli, who hit two solo home runs and a double.

When Bay hit another home run off Justin Speier in the ninth inning to give Boston a 5-3 lead, it looked bad for the Angels , having to rally against Papelbon.

But Hunter homered on a 0-2 pitch to lead off the bottom of the inning, and Kendry Morales ripped a double on another 0-2 pitch, putting the tying run in scoring position with no one out.

In a critical missed chance, Juan Rivera grounded out to short, failing to advance the runner to third. Papelbon then walked hot-hitting Napoli, struck out Erick Aybar and walked Chone Figgins to load the bases for his game-deciding showdown with Kendrick.

"We had good at-bats the whole inning," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said, although most would call Rivera's at-bat the exception. "Howie kept fouling off tough pitches, then he hit a bullet. Unfortunately it didn't find a hole."

Even so, it was good to be talking the agony, for a change, of Baseball.

Reach Gregg Patton at 951-368-9597

or gpatton@PE.com