ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The last batter Scot Shields wanted to see after giving up a bases-loaded walk in the 10th inning was Manny Ramirez.

Sure enough, Ramirez made Shields pay.

The Boston slugger drove in the go-ahead run on a groundout, leading the Red Sox to a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels in a matchup of AL division leaders Friday night.

Gabe Kapler and Johnny Damon opened the 10th with singles against Shields (8-9). Roberto Petagine, who entered as the designated hitter when David Ortiz was ejected in the eighth, walked to load the bases.

"Shields had him two strikes and couldn't put him away. He fouled off a lot of pitches," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "They pressured us in every inning. That's not a forgiving lineup that they have."

Ramirez hit a slow bouncer to third baseman Chone Figgins, whose only play was to first.

"That's a tough spot to put yourself into, with one of the best RBI guys ever," Shields said. "I wish he would have hit it a little harder. We might have had a chance to turn two. But Figgins made a nice play just to get the one out and keep it a one-run game."

Curt Schilling (5-5) pitched two perfect innings for the victory, striking out four after having the flu recently.

"Schill is incredible. He knows how to hit his spots," Damon said. "He looked like he had more hop in his step. He can smell the fact he's going to be starting for us soon."

The Red Sox blew a 3-1 lead they had nursed since the fifth.

Bengie Molina lined a 3-2 pitch from Mike Timlin into left field for a single with two outs in the eighth, scoring Orlando Cabrera and Vladimir Guerrero, who both singled and advanced on a double steal without a throw.

"Very daring on their part. It hurt us," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said.

Boston starter Matt Clement gave up one run and six hits in seven innings, struck out five and walked one. Francona wanted to send him back out, but Clement said he was done.

"I felt good. I was attacking the hitter," Clement said. "It's nice to have good results and keep this team in the game."

Ortiz, who was 0-for-4 with a walk, was ejected by umpire Bill Welke for arguing a called third strike that ended the eighth.

"It's not that I was going crazy out there," Ortiz said. "From the very first pitch, he made a bad call on me. Am I going to be taking that? No, bro. I got to let him know. It's not the time for me to be giving at-bats away."

Ortiz had to be restrained by Francona and coaches Ron Jackson, Lynn Jones and Dale Sveum.

"I handed him off to Dale because I can't stop him," Francona said. "He didn't hit anyone with his bat, so we're ahead of the game."

Los Angeles starter John Lackey allowed three runs and nine hits in six innings, struck out six and walked five.

The Red Sox evened the four-game series after losing Thursday's opener 13-4. They remained four games ahead of the New York Yankees in the AL East.

"It was awesome," Damon said. "We saw what the Yankees did and we knew we had to win."

The Angels' lead in the AL West dropped to 1½ games over Oakland, which beat Kansas City 4-0.

Boston took a 1-0 lead in the second when Bill Mueller singled and scored on Damon's RBI groundout.

Starting in place of struggling Kevin Millar, John Olerud extended Boston's lead to 3-0 in the fifth with a two-run double. Ramirez, who doubled and went to third on Lackey's wild pitch, and Jason Varitek, who walked and got under Molina's tag at the plate, scored.

The Angels made it 3-1 in the fifth. Casey Kotchman led off with a double, went to third on a groundout and scored when first baseman Olerud fielded Steve Finley's grounder and tried in vain to make the play at the plate.

Notes

• The Red Sox are 18-6 in games started by Clement.
• They are 4-1 in extra-inning games, while the Angels are 1-5 in their last six extra-inning affairs.
• Boston RHP Tim Wakefield has a deep contusion of the right lower shin area after getting hit by a comebacker Thursday night. "We'll see how he bounces back," Francona said, adding that Wakefield could be moved back if he can't make his next scheduled start Tuesday at Kansas City.
• Damon went 4-for-6, tying his season high for hits.
• Lackey hasn't allowed a home run in 59 innings, the longest current streak in the majors. He has at least six strikeouts in each of his last 14 starts.