Fernando Salas earned a most efficient win for the Angels

Los Angeles Angels reliever Fernando Salas only threw one of the 260 total pitches recorded during Saturday’s game against the Indians.

That one pitch was enough to earn him the victory.

Salas was called upon to clean up a mess created by usually reliable closer Huston Street in the ninth inning. The Angels had entered the inning with a three-run lead after starter Matt Shoemaker tossed eight scoreless frames, but that lead had vanished by the time Salas arrived.

Salas entered with the game tied, two outs, and the Indians threatening with two runners in scoring position. Then he rocked and fired his one pitch, getting Yan Gomes to pop out harmlessly to end the inning and position himself for a most efficient victory.

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The Angels would secure that victory, 4-3, thanks to a Yunel Escobar walk-off single. It all made for a dramatic sequence of events and a happy ending for the home fans. In the big picture though, it’s just another reminder of how misleading the pitcher win stat can be.

In this case, you have a starter in Shoemaker who pitched brilliantly. In his eight innings, he allowed three hits while walking one and striking out 11. That’s a Clayton Kershaw like outing that perhaps should have earned him a chance to complete the game. That was never a serious consideration though given his 108 pitches.

So to recap, Shoemaker’s 108 pitches were undone by Street’s 28 pitches, but it was Salas’ one pitch that earned the decision. Yeah, that’s a definitely flawed system, but it’s a better result than Street surviving one more out and vulturing the win for himself.

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