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In the grand scheme of things, tonight’s L.A. Angels at Boston Red Sox game doesn’t mean a whole lot. After all, the Red Sox appear locked into the AL wild-card spot, and the Angels have a comfortable lead in the AL West.

However, tonight is rather important for the Angels to prove they can beat Boston because the two teams are likely to face off yet again in the playoffs. Oh, sure, the teams are tied 4-4 in this season’s meetings after Wednesday night’s 9-8 Boston victory, but maybe it would do wonders for L.A. to win the season series, which culminates tonight. Why is that? The Angels have lost 12 of their last 13 playoff games against the Red Sox dating to 1986 and are 0-4 all-time in postseason series against the Red Sox.

Boston has opened as a -165 WagerWeb.com favorite for tonight’s game behind ace Josh Beckett as it goes for the series sweep.

It’s the first time Beckett has pitched against the Angels since April 12, the day Beckett sparked a benches-clearing incident by throwing at Bobby Abreu’s head after time was called. Abreu was backing out of the batter’s box after umpire Paul Schreiber had called time when Beckett delivered the pitch.

Beckett claimed he didn’t hear the umpire call time and was “halfway through my delivery — I’m not going to stop and possibly hurt myself.” But the pitcher was suspended for six games.

The right-hander had been struggling of late, going 0-2 with a 7.76 ERA in a five-start stretch from Aug. 18 through last week. But on Saturday, he tossed five innings of one-run ball in a rain-shortened 9-1 win over the Rays. He is 0-3 with a 7.03 ERA in his past four starts against Los Angeles, including postseason.

The Angels counter with Ervin Santana, who hasn’t beaten Boston since 2005. Including playoffs, he’s 0-2 with a 7.30 ERA in his last five starts against the Red Sox.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona said C/1B Victor Martinez will be back in the lineup on Thursday after taking a few personal days, but 1B Kevin Youkilis might have to take another day or two.

MLB Betting at WagerWeb.com