The Angels opened their series against the Rays in St. Petersburg carrying the kind of momentum that changes how a trip feels before the first pitch is thrown. After sweeping the Texas Rangers and taking two of three in Detroit, they arrived with five wins in their last six games.
Zach Neto has been a big reason for that surge. Over his last six games, he has posted a 1.264 OPS, and across the Texas and Detroit series he went 9 for 23 with four walks, three doubles and two home runs while producing a.391/.481/.783 slash line. That kind of production gives the Angels a middle-of-the-order threat they can lean on while the rest of the lineup settles in around him.
The recent run also has been built on the mound. Reid Detmers, who threw a no-hitter earlier in his career, followed it up last Sunday with one of the sharpest starts of his season, allowing one hit and no walks in eight full innings against the Rangers while striking out 14. For a club that needed a jolt, that outing helped turn a good week into a real statement.
Now comes the harder test. Tampa Bay was being described as a very tough team in St. Petersburg and a club built around pitching, which is exactly the kind of opponent that can interrupt a streak without needing much offense of its own. Nick Martinez was slated to start the opener, and he entered the game with 10 starts, 59.2 innings pitched, a 1.51 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP.
That is the part that will decide whether the Angels' recent surge travels. They have been punishing mistakes and getting enough from Detmers and Neto to win games they were not always expected to control, but Martinez gives Tampa Bay a starter who has spent two months limiting damage and keeping traffic off the bases. If Los Angeles keeps finding extra-base hits and patient at-bats, it can make this series look like the last six games have become the new baseline. If not, St. Petersburg can turn quickly into a pitching duel that asks a hotter team to prove it can stay hot against one of the tougher arms in front of it.
