BOSTON—Reid Detmers allowed three hits over 6 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts and Taylor Ward matched a season high with three RBIs to lead the Los Angeles Angels over the Boston Red Sox 7–0 on Friday night, April 12.
“He kept them off balance all night,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “Another great outing. ... It seems like every time we’ve needed it, he’s stepped up. I couldn’t ask for more from him.”
The Angels sent seven batters to the plate in the first inning, scoring three runs (one earned) against Boston right-hander Tanner Houck (2–1), who had not allowed a run in his two previous starts this season, spanning 12 innings.
Houck matched a career high with seven runs allowed (four earned) on a career-high 12 hits in 5 2/3 innings.
“Stuff-wise, I felt a little flat with everything,” Houck said. “Felt like it didn’t quite have the same bite as the last two outings.”
The left-hander Detmers (3–0) had a similar outing to his last—an April 6 win against Boston—when he allowed one run on three hits with a walk and 12 strikeouts in six innings. He had two walks on Friday.
“I didn’t have my best stuff early,” Detmers said. “I was kind of just fighting myself a little bit. Worked in between innings, figured it out slowly and by the end of the game I felt like I had all my stuff back.”
Ward’s two-run homer with two outs in the sixth, scoring Mike Trout who singled, ended Houck’s night with left-hander Brennan Bernardino entering.
Boston made three errors, matching a season high on April 5 against the Angels. The Red Sox are 0–4 at Fenway Park this season.
“Things didn’t work out for them on the defensive side, to our advantage,” Washington said.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said those mental mistakes really bothered him.
“Like, the physical ones, they’re part of it,” he said. “We will make mistakes, we will make errors. I made errors. I know how it works. It’s part of it. But, the other ones are the ones we have to eliminate, the mental ones.”
