Let’s Review the Evidence
The Angels beat the Red Sox 6-1 at Fenway Park, which is the sort of sentence Los Angeles fans are entitled to frame. Reid Detmers allowed one hit, struck out nine and threw six scoreless innings. The Angels supplied 15 hits, apparently deciding that their pitcher had suffered enough from the concept of run support.
Detmers needed 112 pitches to finish his six innings. Boston kept fouling pitches off, but the left-hander kept filling the zone and retired the final 10 batters he faced.
The Moment the Game Broke
Los Angeles scored twice in the second, added two more in the third, and then kept the pressure on without needing one giant swing. The Red Sox did not get their only run until the seventh, long after the Angels had made the game a one-sided chase.
That is what made the win unusual. Detmers did the difficult part early, and the Angels did not ask him to defend a one-run lead while the bullpen watched the calendar.
Credit Where It’s Annoyingly Due
Detmers’ Desk metric is nine strikeouts. The number is not a complete pitching evaluation, but paired with one hit allowed and six scoreless innings, it captures how little Boston was allowed to control the at-bat.
The Angels finished with 15 hits and no errors. Boston had four hits and no errors, so this was not a defensive gift or a Fenway misadventure. Los Angeles simply won the contact battle, the pitching battle and the scoreboard battle at the same time.
The larger context is less comfortable for the Angels: even with Detmers’ 1.37 ERA over his last 10 starts, the club had gone 2-8 in those games before Tuesday. This time, the lineup remembered to bring a supporting cast.
The Completely Unbiased Verdict
Detmers has been pitching like a staff ace while the Angels have treated run support like an optional subscription. On Tuesday, Los Angeles finally paid for the full package.
Boston got one hit and one run. The Angels got six runs and a rare night where the pitcher did not have to be perfect and lonely at the same time.