Red Sox offer their support

Terry Francona has been in tight games and routs. He has managed in the playoffs, the World Series and the All-Star game more than once. So there isn’t too much the Boston Red Sox skipper hasn’t seen in his 20 years in a major league dugout.

But Friday night’s game at Angel Stadium, he admitted beforehand, was uncharted territory.

Never before had he taken on a team that was grieving over the death of one of its players.

“Obviously, our thoughts and prayers are with the Adenhart family and the Angels family,” a somber Francona said in reference to rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart, who was killed, along with two others, in a traffic accident early Thursday. “We’ll try to be very respectful and we’ll try to compete. And I think that’s the best you can do.

“[But] when the game starts, you’re supposed to try to win.”

Before the game, the Angels lowered the flags around their ballpark to half-staff and affixed a black-and-white picture of Adenhart, in mid-windup, to the padding on the center-field wall. A video tribute was shown on the scoreboard, after which Francona led his team onto the field, where it lined up along the first-base foul line.

The Angels then took their places along the third base line for a moment of silence in memory of Adenhart, who, along with 20-year Courtney Frances Stewart and 25-year-old Henry Pearson, died after the car in which they were riding was hit by a minivan driven by a 22-year-old Riverside man, Andrew Gallo, who was charged Friday with murder and drunk driving, among other things.

“We have to go out there and play the game, but that will definitely be in the back of everyone’s mind,” said Boston’s Dustin Pedroia, the reigning AL most valuable player. “Their team and their organization, guys are going through the worst-case scenario. We feel for them. If they need support, it doesn’t matter if we’re different teams from different cities. We’re here for all those guys.”

Outside the ballpark a steady stream of visitors stopped at a makeshift shrine constructed atop a faux pitcher’s mound in front of the ticket windows. In just over 24 hours it had grown to include hundreds of flowers, baseballs, caps, votive candles, handwritten notes -- even a bag of sunflower seeds.

“It’s so sad,” Virginia Jauregui of El Monte, wearing a red Angels batting practice jersey, said as she dabbed a Kleenex to the tears welling behind her tinted glasses. “I saw him pitching. Now he’s gone.”

Fitting tributes

Rather than replacing Adenhart on the roster, the Angels, as a tribute to their former teammate, elected to play Friday’s game with 24 players. They are expected to be at full strength this afternoon, however, after recalling outfielder Reggie Willits from triple-A Salt Lake.

The Angels will also wear a patch with Adenhart’s No. 34.

Filling the spot

Manager Mike Scioscia juggled his starting rotation after Thursday’s off day, meaning he could go another week without having to fill Adenhart’s spot in the rotation.

Shane Loux had his turn skipped, with Jered Weaver starting Friday in his place. That also allowed Scioscia to move Joe Saunders and Dustin Moseley up a day. Loux will now make his season debut Tuesday in Seattle.

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