ANAHEIM, Calif. –– The lack of offensive production in the first two games of the ALDS for the Red Sox has been staggering. After losing 5-0 and 4-1 to the Angels here, Boston is batting a lowly .131 (8-for-61) as a club in this series.

"We definitely, collectively, have to do a little more offensively. Because if not, it’s going to be a little -- we’re walking a dangerous line here," said Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell.

Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury became the only Boston player to have a multi-hit game when he legged out an infield single and registered a triple in Game Two on Friday night. Victor Martinez and Kevin Youkilis were the only other Sox players with hits in that game.

In Game One on Thursday, Dustin Pedroia, Jason Bay, J.D. Drew and Alex Gonzalez each provided a hit. Other than that, Boston’s offense has been kaput.

As much as the Red Sox are struggling at the plate, they have run into a pair of solid pitchers, John Lackey and Jered Weaver, who have been on top of their games.

"It’s probably a little bit of both," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "They certainly have executed very, very well."

Designated hitter David Ortiz is 0-for-8 with four strikeouts so far. He knows there’s only one thing the Red Sox can do to change things around before it’s too late.

"Hit the damn ball," he said. Their pitching’s been doing good, now let’s go home and keep on playing. ... They’re pitching good man. Good pitching’s going to beat good offense. That’s what they’ve been doing to hold us down."

"Those two guys for them pitched the great games, probably the games of their lives," said Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon. "They flat-out pitched, and when you have two guys like that who can go out there and do that to any lineup, it’s going to be tough."

Boston’s Bay is 1-for-5 with a pair of walks in this series.

"We’re a good offense and we have been all year," he said. "I think people tend to forget that there’s two guys out there trying to get us out who are pretty good. They’re not just flipping balls up there underhanded and we’re not getting hits. I’m not passing the buck, by any means; we need to do a better job offensively. But that guy wasn’t 15-and-whatever because he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Their pitching’s better than our hitting right now."

Youkilis is 1-for-8 with a double.

"We’re just not getting hits and not getting on base," he said. "We’ve got to get hits and get on base. I’m one of the biggest culprits on the team about that. We’ve just got to step it up, and get it going in Game Three."

The Red Sox hope a change of scenery will make a difference. During the regular season the Sox hit .291 at home compared to .268 on the road.

"I certainly hope so," said Francona. "What we’re trying to do is win the next game we play. That’s what we’re always trying to do. We’ve had a tough time these last two games swinging the bat -- that’s an understatement."

Papelbon worked the bottom of the eighth inning and has now thrown 25 2/3 scoreless innings in 17 career postseason appearances. His team is down 0-2 and is one loss away from calling it a season.

"You don’t expect to start a series like this and you don’t expect to be hit in the face like that," said Papelbon. "These series are like a title fight, they’re 12 rounds and we just got punched in the mouth, and we need to go back and do the same."

jmcdonal@projo.com