The Red Sox had won five straight behind a resurgent rotation. On Tuesday, it was the opposing starter who took over.
Reid Detmers held Boston to one hit over six scoreless innings, striking out nine as the Angels snapped the Red Sox’ winning streak with a 6-1 victory at Fenway Park.
Boston fell to 80-66 after managing just four hits against Los Angeles pitching.
The Red Sox entered Tuesday with a 21-13 record against left-handed starters and the fifth-best team OPS in the majors against lefties at .764. Detmers made those numbers look irrelevant.
The Angels left-hander allowed just one hit and one walk while throwing 112 pitches, tied for the eighth-highest total by a starter this season. Only 19 pitchers have reached 110 pitches in an outing this year.
Detmers has been one of the majors’ best starters since the All-Star break, posting a 1.37 ERA over 10 starts, the lowest among qualified starters in that span.
The southpaw extended his scoreless streak at Fenway Park to at least 17 2/3 innings, becoming just the second visiting pitcher since 2010 to reach that mark.
hit the (record) books 📚
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) September 9, 2026
Tonight, Reid Detmers became the first Angels pitcher with 6+ IP and one-or-fewer runs allowed in six consecutive starts. pic.twitter.com/qQReutVmA5
Boston’s lineup, already missing Willson Contreras and Ceddanne Rafaela to injuries, also played without Adley Rutschman, who received a day off. Trevor Story batted cleanup for the third time in four games, while Nick Sogard hit fifth.
Sogard had two of Boston’s four hits, but the Red Sox never generated much of a threat against Detmers.
Sogard has been one of Boston’s more productive hitters lately. In 21 games since Aug. 17, he is batting .300 (24-for-80) with a .903 OPS, 10 extra-base hits (six doubles, four homers), 10 RBI and nine multi-hit games.
Patrick Sandoval, meanwhile, had a difficult outing against his former team.
Making his first career start against the Angels, Sandoval allowed four runs on 10 hits and two walks while striking out 10.
Sandoval matched his season highs in strikeouts (10) and innings pitched, but allowed 10 hits, tied for the second-most of his career.
He previously struck out 10 on July 29 at Oakland and Aug. 28 at New York, while his previous season-high innings total came Aug. 11 at Toronto. His career high for hits allowed is 11, set May 12, 2024, against Kansas City while with the Angels.
The left-hander, who signed with Boston after the 2024 season, has continued to struggle with baserunners, entering Tuesday with a 1.76 WHIP.
He has walked 27 batters in 55 innings this season, and one of his two walks Tuesday proved costly.