Reid Detmers recovered from a very poor showing last week and turned in his best performance of the season on the same Sunday morning that Garrett Whitlock did. That they had to face each other would prove unfortunate for the Angels.
Detmers maneuvered around a handful of baserunners to keep the Red Sox off the board in 6 of the 7 frames in which he pitched. Striking out 7 and walking 1, the solidity of his 3rd start season would be called into question by a lone two-run Justin Turner bomb, but the Angels bats were utterly unable to figure out a dealing Whitlock. The Red Sox righty matched and surpassed his Angels counterpart, holding the batters to just 3 hits and 1 run while finishing out the 7th.
The bats were utterly limp and the bases weren’t the Halos’ friend either. GIDPs plagued Zach Neto in the leadoff spot today, Brandon Drury was erased trying to steal 2nd early on and, more crucially, Brett Phillips was picked off 2nd in the 8th in a moderately higher-leverage situation. Only one hit was managed in the wake of Whitlock leaving.
The Angels drop the series, and their last chance to prevent a sweep comes tomorrow.