Santana’s Bumpy Road Record Is Baffling

If it was over one season, especially a rookie season, when even the most promising of pitchers can be hard to predict, it would be a statistical anomaly.

But Ervin Santana is nearing the end of his second season, 51 starts into his big league career, and neither he nor pitching coach Bud Black can figure out why the 23-year-old right-hander has struggled so much on the road.

Santana was 12-8 with a 4.65 earned-run average in 2005; he was 9-3 with a 3.18 ERA in 14 starts in Angel Stadium and 3-5 with a 7.43 ERA in nine starts away from it.

This season has brought more of the same -- Santana is 8-2 with a 3.02 ERA in 14 starts at home and 5-5 with a 6.39 ERA in 14 starts on the road. Overall, he has a 4.50 ERA. Opponents are hitting .224 with five home runs against Santana at home and .271 with 13 homers against him on the road.

“There’s no explanation for it -- I can’t put a finger on it,” Black said. “I wish I could explain it. I can’t. I just want him to let it go. I don’t want him to think about it. We all feel he’s going to pitch well every time out, whether he’s home or on the road.”

Santana was certain he would pitch well Friday in Detroit. “I felt unhittable in the bullpen,” he said. “Every pitch was working how I wanted it.”

Then he grooved a first-inning fastball to Craig Monroe, who hit a home run, and a second-inning fastball to Omar Infante, who hit a two-run double. Consecutive run-scoring doubles by Brandon Inge and Curtis Granderson in the fourth gave Detroit a 5-0 lead en route to a 9-0 victory.

Santana lasted four innings, giving up five runs and seven hits. He struck out seven.

“They’re the best team in baseball now, and they’re hot,” Santana said of the Tigers. “Every time they had a man on second, they’d move him over or get a hit to knock him in.”

As for his home-road differential, Santana said, “There’s no reason for it. I just pitch. I don’t know how to explain it. I don’t worry about it, I don’t think about it, and I don’t care about it.”

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For the third time this season, a Sunday game in the Eastern time zone was moved from an afternoon start to 8 p.m. to accommodate ESPN, a switch that means the Angels, for a third time, will arrive in Southern California at around 3 a.m. before a Monday night game at home.

The Angels sent tonight’s starting pitcher, Jered Weaver, home from Detroit on an afternoon flight Sunday so he could get a normal night’s sleep, but the rest of the Angels will probably be groggy against Baltimore.

“The schedule is tough no matter what happens,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “It’s just something you have to deal with.”

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Garret Anderson was scratched from Sunday night’s lineup because of a tight left quadriceps and was replaced at designated hitter by Tim Salmon. Anderson was expected to return tonight.... Third baseman Maicer Izturis aggravated his left hamstring injury Saturday and did not start Sunday. He said the injury is “not serious” and he could return tonight.

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com