First, let’s summarize the things that sucked about last night’s game

1. The Sox lost

2. They lost in extra innings, so everyone’s a little tired.

Other than that, well, I’m not letting last night’s loss affect my attitude towards this series. I didn’t think it was over when the Sox won two in Anaheim (unlike Dan Shaughnessy, who was already inquiring about duck boat rentals). And I certainly wouldn’t call tonight a MUST-WIN for the Red Sox. I’d call it a game we have a great chance of winning, since we’re trotting out our ace, Jon Lester.

Let’s not kid ourselves. Did we really expect Beckett, who was scratched from Game 1 with an oblique muscle, to be lights out last night? He certainly wasn’t getting to first base like a guy who’s 100 percent healthy. I think he pitched pretty well, all things considered. He gave us a chance to win, but the bats didn’t come through with two outs, as they had in the first two games. Hey, it happens.

This wasn’t a gut-punch loss. This wasn’t Game Six of the ‘86 World Series, for chrissakes. It was a battle of attrition, and the Angels won. They expended as many arms as the Sox last night, so whichever team’s starter (Lackey or Lester) can go deeper in this game, that team will likely win.

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty confident about Jon Lester tonight. He’s 16-2 with a 3.30 ERA in his career at Fenway.

John Lackey? In eight career starts at Fenway, he’s 2-4 with a 6.34 ERA.

Cam Martin also writes for Bugs&Cranks and CBS Sportsline.