The pot holes keep getting bigger for the Red Sox away from Fenway Park, where they have not won consecutive contests in a month. Saturday's 8-3 loss to the Angels meant that Anaheim will not be the sight of Boston's first road series victory since June 4-6, when they took two out of three in Kansas City.

Instead, they will look to Curt Schilling to salvage a split of this four-game series on Sunday.

The Sox were hoping to bring over some momentum from Friday's 4-2 victory and win two road games in a row for the first time since June 17-18, but it wasn't to be. The Angels dominated the Sox at the plate and on the mound, punishing the Sox with a 13-hit attack while only allowing five hits.

Manager Terry Francona's team is now 19-25 on the road, compared to 30-15 at Fenway.

"We can't quite figure it out," said Sox center fielder Johnny Damon. "With the team we have, we should be walking over people. Not necessarily the Angels. I think the Angels are the best team we've played all year. But leading into this, we had a great homestand, but playing on the road, we're just not quite there."

The one positive note was Damon's third multi-homer game of the season. But his two solo homers weren't enough to overcome everything else.

Damon couldn't take any joy from his personally successful night. He was too upset at himself for failing to capitalize with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the second, his team down 3-0 at the time. Damon flew out to shallow center in that at-bat against Bartolo Colon.

"I cost us the game early on," Damon said. "Colon gave me a nice pitch to hit, my timing wasn't quite there. The same pitch later on, I was able to hit it out of the ballpark."

Veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield allowed eight hits and five runs over four innings and was hurt by a tough-luck first inning, when the Angels squirted their share of seeing-eye hits.

What hurt Wakefield the most was a scorching line drive by Jose Molina in the fourth inning that went off the back of his right shoulder blade. So hard was the ball struck that it deflected off of Wakefield right into shortstop Nomar Garciaparra's glove for a lineout.

Wakefield will get a CT scan on Sunday and hopes to be able to make his next start, which is scheduled for Thursday against the Orioles.

"We think he's going to be pretty sore," said Francona. "He thinks he's going to be OK, which is kind of encouraging. He took a pretty good shot."

The Sox got in trouble right out of the gate. Wakefield got himself in some trouble, walking two to load the bases with two outs. That set up Darin Erstad for a two-run single to center. Tim Salmon followed by lining one just off of Nomar Garciaparra's glove for a hit that made it 3-0.

Vladimir Guerrero tacked one to that lead in the bottom of the third, smashing a solo homer to left-center. All four of Guerrero's lifetime hits off Wakefield are home runs.

An inning later, the Angels used the longball again. This time, it was Adam Kennedy's drive to right that made it 5-0.

"The first inning was just, I don't think they really hit a ball hard and I'm down 3-0," Wakefield said. "It was just one of those things. Being a knuckleballer sometimes that happens. You get cue shots off of the end of the bat, they fall in. The only two hard balls I gave up were the two home runs. I just have to get ready for my next start."

The Kennedy homer came right after Wakefield took the line shot to the shoulder. At that point, Francona decided enough was enough and, as a precaution, took him out after the inning.

Wakefield threw 78 pitches.

The Boston offense showed its first spark against Colon in the fifth, thanks to Damon's solo homer to right.

But that small burst of momentum proved to be short-lived. The Angels went on the attack against the Boston bullpen in the bottom of the sixth, scoring three runs to take an 8-1 lead.

Damon and David Ortiz both went deep in the eighth to draw the Sox a little closer.

Now, the Sox turn to Schilling, just as they've done so many times this season.

"We haven't played the game yet, but if we win, we have a chance to have a good trip still," said Francona. "We need to play a good game. We still feel like we can have a decent road trip."

Which, as far as the Red Sox are concerned, would be a much-needed change of pace.