BOSTON - The Angels aggressive base-running style was missing something Wednesday night.

Baserunners.

It wasn't a good look for the Angels, who tend to build runs one base at a time.

One base by its lonesome in any inning turned out to be a monumental achievement in their postseason opener against Boston, a lethargic 4-0 snoozefest of a loss.

It's the downside to the small-ball approach. The long ball can turn a game around in a hurry. Little ball, not so much.

With the Angels and their guerrilla style, it usually takes a village of hitters. Wednesday their lineup was a ghost town. They managed just four singles off of Boston ace Josh Beckett, who didn't walk or hit anyone either.

"He was strike one, strike two," said Angels first baseman Casey Kotchman, one of six starters who went oh-fer in the game. "We just didn't get anything going."

The Red Sox fielders were lonely out there.

"It was three-up, three-down pretty consistently," said Boston third baseman Mike Lowell. "(Beckett) had all of his pitches. He was pretty composed."

If "pesky" and "scrappy" and "gritty" are the kind of words you'd associate with the Angels this season, Beckett made sure they were none of those things.

Not a scrap to get pesky or gritty with.

With no one on base, and a lineup mostly devoid of power hitters, the Angels went meekly into the New England night. Suddenly, the Angels looked like that team that needed a big bat in the middle of the order last winter.

All they could do was chalk it up to one great game by a dominant pitcher -- perhaps the American League Cy Young winner -- and move on.

"Everyone was just trying to put together a good at-bat," said center fielder Reggie Willits, when asked about a stretch of 19 consecutive Angels hitters who trotted back to the dugout. "There's not too much you can do when the pitcher is spotting everything he's got."

Said Angels catcher Mike Napoli, "It's tough when he's got the kind of stuff he had tonight. You just tip your hat and come back Friday."

That's the good news for the Angels. It won't be Beckett on Friday night, but the Red Sox' Japanese enigma, Daisuke Matsuzaka. He isn't exactly known for his pinpoint control. At this point, he really isn't known for much of anything, yet. His erratic rookie year began well, got pretty rocky in the middle, and finished a little better.

The Angels hope to see the July-August Matsuzaka.

If Beckett pitched the perfect game against the attack-minded Angels -- he threw an astoundingly high 83 of his 108 pitches in the strike zone -- the visitors can only assume they will have a better chance Friday night.

Passive to aggressive.

"We've been able to turn the page during the season," said Angels outfielder Garret Anderson, who struck out his first two times up and went 0-for-4. "I don't anticipate this carrying over."

A dominating pitcher can make anyone look bad. The Angels know from experience.

Of course, they're in trouble if this is a repeat of their last postseason appearance in 2005 against Chicago. The White Sox starters finished off their 4-games-to-1 American League Championship Series victory over the Angels with four consecutive complete game victories, humiliating a remarkably docile offense.

Beckett made it five in a row, a notable streak, considering how few starters ever go nine innings these days.

Matsuzaka may not have had Beckett's year, but he does have one thing going for him -- the Angels haven't seen him, yet.

"One thing I can't get out of my head is we're facing a pitcher we haven't faced all year," said Angels Orlando Cabrera before the series began. "It's not enough with video."

Manager Mike Scioscia also conceded that a pitcher has a "slight advantage" in the first meeting, "just picking up the release points, picking up spin on the ball.

"We're going to have to make a quick study."

A quick study, or it will be a quick series. Even if things start turning their way, the Angels figure to see Beckett one more time. He's tentatively penciled in as the Game 4 starter, if the Angels can push it there.

If it's any consolation, the Red Sox aren't anticipating another Beckett-like start on Friday, either.

"We're just looking for a good solid start (from Matsuzaka)," said Lowell. "Hopefully we'll score a lot of runs for him."

Unless the Angels can shake their extended postseason malaise, the Red Sox may not have to.

Reach Gregg Patton at 951-368-9597 or gpatton@PE.com