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ANGELS 6, RED SOX 3

Things went sideways in a hurry for frustrated Red Sox

Red Sox manager John Farrell continues arguing with crew chief Bill Miller after getting ejected over a disputed balk call.Barry Chin/Globe Staff

For about five innings, things were relatively static-free. David Price seemed to be rebounding nicely from an ugly outing in Houston, keeping traffic off the base paths and keeping the Angels in check with a crisp two-seamer.

How things became so unhinged so quickly on the way to a 6-3 loss Saturday takes some explaining.

Price ended up leaving the mound sooner than he would’ve liked after six innings of work and wanted to have a talk in private with pitching coach Carl Willis. While they were talking, Sox manager John Farrell was nose-to-nose with crew chief Bill Miller after a balk call added to the Angels’ lead in the seventh inning.

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Farrell got ejected, but got his money’s worth.

But on the whole, the Sox were left with nothing but simmering frustration.

Determined to bounce back after what he called a “terrible” start against the Houston Astros last week, Price gave up three runs (two earned) on six hits with five strikeouts.

By and large, he stayed out of the sticky situations that plagued him in his first five starts since coming off the disabled list last month. But in the sixth inning, with the Sox down 2-1, he found himself in a first-and-third jam after giving up a leadoff double to Andrelton Simmons (who advanced on a ground out by Martin Maldonado) and then walking Danny Espinosa.

With Price sitting on 97 pitches, Willis came out from the dugout for a conference.

Righthander Blaine Boyer was warming in the bullpen.

Willis left after the quick talk and it was up to Price to get out of the inning.

Price gave up a sacrifice fly to Luis Valbuena, scoring Simmons and pushing the Angels lead to 3-1. But Espinosa was caught trying to steal second to get Price out of the jam.

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In the dugout between innings, while Willis and Farrell were going over strategy, Price called for Willis to meet him in the hallway leading to the Sox clubhouse.

Both Willis and Farrell look slightly taken aback, but Willis followed behind Price.

While they were gone, the game got away from the Sox.

Fernando Abad came on in the seventh to relieve Price, and the Angels immediately added an insurance run after Cliff Penington singled with one out and Cameron Maybin drove him in with a double to deep center to make it 4-1.

Maybin stole third, then things got messy.

Kole Calhoun was at the plate with a 3-1 count. Calhoun appeared to call for time. Plate umpire Ryan Blakney raised his hands. Calhoun started to step out of the box. Abad stepped off the mound.

As soon as he did, Blakney called a balk. It allowed Maybin to trot home and give the Angels a 5-1 lead.

Cameron Maybin scored on Fernando Abad’s balk in the 7th inning.Barry Chin/Globe Staff

Farrell came running from the dugout to get an explanation from Blakney.

The more Blakney explained, the more upset Farrell got.

The umpiring crew talked it over, but when they were done, they told Farrell the exact same thing.

Farrell then pleaded his case to crew chief Miller. The exchange grew more heated by the word. Miller gave Farrell the heave-ho, but the argument only intensified until they were nose to nose, spit flying between them.

Overall, the night was a frustrating one for the Sox, who mustered just six hits. Their first run came on a solo homer to by Mitch Moreland (his fourth of the month and 10 of the season). They threatened in the ninth, adding two runs and loading the bases with two out before pinch hitter Chris Young whiffed to end it.

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Still, with the Yankees taking an 8-1 loss to the Rangers, the teams remained tied for the AL East lead.

Price gave up three hits in the first inning, including an RBI single by Maldonado that gave the Angels an early 1-0 lead.

After getting Cameron Maybin to ground out to short to start things off, Calhoun jumped on a 1-and-0 two-seamer, stroking a broken-bat single to left field.

He tried mixing things up with Albert Pujols, showing him a two-seamer, a cutter, and then a changeup inside. But Pujols strong-armed another broken-bat single to left to make it first and second with one out.

Price struck out Simmons (11 of his 24 strikeouts coming in came with men on base), but couldn’t get out of the jam damage-free.

David Price gave up a leadoff double in the top of the sixth inning. Barry Chin/Globe Staff

He tried to get Maldonado to chase a cutter, down and away, but Maldonado poked it back through the middle and Calhoun came around to put the Angels on the board.

Fractured toe and all, Moreland got ahold of a 1-and-1 two-seamer from JC Ramirez in the second inning and blasted it deep into the center-field Monster seats to tie the game at 1.

His 10th of the season broke up a brutal 1-for-18 stretch over his previous five games.

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Price settled down and retired six of the next seven batters he faced in the second and third. He got four ground outs (all on his two-seamer), struck out Cliff Pennington (0-and-2 two-seamer) and got Eric Young Jr. to fly out on a changeup. The only hit he allowed was a long and loud double off the garage door in the triangle to Pujols in the third inning.

A strange fourth inning cost the Sox a run.

After striking out Maldonado to start the inning, Price got a routine ground ball to short by Espinosa. Xander Bogaerts fielded it cleanly on the run, but let a wild throw loose that sailed to the fence in front of the Sox dugout.

With Valbuena at the plate, the Sox appeared to have Espinosa picked off, but Espinosa made a dash for second and slid in before Moreland’s throw could get there.

Valbuena then sent a sharp line drive to Deven Marrero at third. Marrero gloved it, but the ball popped loose. He scrambled to retrieve it, not realizing third base umpire Miller had already called it a clean catch.

Valbuena apparently realized it because he didn’t make an effort to run down the first base line. But Marrero still made the throw to first, catching Moreland off guard.

Once the confusion settled, the Angels still had a runner in scoring position with two outs and Eric Young Jr. at the plate. Young has been a spark for the Angels since being called up last month when Mike Trout went down (he came in hitting .288, three doubles, 3 home runs, 10 RBIs, 14 runs, and 6 stolen bases) and he shot a ground ball down the right-field line that rolled all the way into the corner for a double that scored Espinosa and gave the Angels a 2-1 lead.

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Box score: Angels 6, Red Sox 3

Julian Benbow can be reached at jbenbow@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @julianbenbow.