Detmers fends off pesky Sox, lowers second-half ERA to astonishing 1.37

BOSTON -- It took a career-high 112 pitches, but left-hander Reid Detmers continued his masterful run since the All-Star break by outdueling former teammate Patrick Sandoval on Tuesday night.

Detmers struck out nine over six scoreless innings while allowing just one hit and one walk in the Angels’ 6-1 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. His 1.37 ERA in 10 starts in the second half leads the Majors, and he has struck out 68 and walked 10 in 59 1/3 innings over that stretch.

Detmers also became the second pitcher in club history with six straight starts of at least six innings while allowing one run or fewer, joining Dean Chance in 1964.

“He was pretty amazing,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “He attacked from the beginning and had all his offspeed working and kept them off-balance. But he didn't want to come out of that game.”

Detmers also improved to 5-8 with a 3.32 ERA in a career-high 29 starts this season in his return to the rotation after pitching in relief last year. He has struck out 191 and walked 45 in 168 innings, and he has mostly been hurt by poor run support. Even with his 1.37 ERA over his past 10 outings, the Angels are just 2-8 in those games.

Detmers and Suzuki had a short conversation after the fifth inning, and Detmers adamantly let him know he felt good enough to go one more inning. He was at 90 pitches, but he wanted to help the bullpen and get through six frames.

“It was pretty simple,” Detmers said. “I just pretty much told him I was going to pitch the sixth inning no matter what, and there was no argument. He said, ‘OK.’ I told him how I felt, and that was pretty much that.”

As usual, Detmers flooded the strike zone with his arsenal, but the biggest issue was the Red Sox fouling off 30 pitches. It’s a reason why his pitch count was so high despite just one walk.

“That's kind of what they do,” Detmers said. “They've done it all year. And it's frustrating, but at the same time, my stuff felt really good and it is what it is. They did drive up my pitch count pretty good, but at the end of the day, you just got to keep competing and battling.”

The lone hit Detmers allowed came in the first inning, a two-out single by Wilyer Abreu. He also walked Caleb Durbin in the second inning and hit Jahmai Jones with a pitch in the third, but he retired the last 10 batters he faced.

Detmers said he didn’t feel tired despite running up the highest pitch count by an Angels pitcher since Griffin Canning threw 120 on July 17, 2023.

“I felt good,” Detmers said. “Body felt good, arm felt good. Honestly, I think the stuff kind of ticked up the last inning a little bit. But overall, it was really good.”

Detmers’ previous career high in pitches was 108, which he had done three times, the last time coming on Sept. 11, 2023. It was tied for the eighth-most pitches by any starter in the Majors this year. Detmers received some leeway because he was pitching on an extra day of rest, and he’ll also get another extra day with an off-day looming on Thursday.

“It was a cool night, he had an extra day and he looked strong,” Suzuki said. “And I went up to him trying to check his answer, and he was pretty confident that he was going to go out there, so I just let him go.”

Detmers bested Sandoval, who was his teammate on the Angels from 2021-24 before signing a two-year deal with Boston before last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Detmers received rare run support, as the Angels scored four runs against Sandoval in six innings.

“He’s electric,” Sandoval said of Detmers. “Same guy that I remember playing with and seeing every day work day in, day out.

“Very proud of what he's been able to do, especially since the All-Star break; he’s probably been the best pitcher in the big leagues. Nothing but good things to say about him and all he's worked through and gone through in that organization. And to see where he is now, I'm proud of him.”