"Late in the Angels' 7-0 loss to Boston on Sunday, Manager Mike Scioscia took right fielder Torii Hunter out of the game.

"He told me I [stink] right now, so I just need to take a mental break," Hunter said.

Hunter is hitting .102 (five for 49) in his last 13 games, and though nearly all the Angels are struggling offensively, having scored only five runs in four games, Hunter's frustration is obvious.

"Torii is swinging a lot better than what his stats show," hitting coach Mickey Hatcher said. "He's hitting a lot of balls hard, but he's not getting hits."

Hunter agrees.

"They say hit the ball hard and you'll get a hit," said Hunter, who was two for 13 in the four-game series with Boston.

"That's not true. I'll take the bleeders right now, the broken-bat hits, bloopers - I like those right now."

Scioscia also took left fielder Vernon Wells out of the game.

Wells was one for 15 in the series with the Red Sox.

Scioscia said many players are struggling at the plate for different reasons. Some are pressing. Some are just out of sync."