Lemanczyk (3-0) took the baseball and struck out 10 Angels, allowing just five hits as he breezed through every inning except the seventh.
Leon Roberts' two-run single in the seventh put the Tigers up 3-0.
In the Angels' seventh, Lemanczyk lost his command and loaded the bases with nobody out. But he limited the damage to one run: a force out to score a run, followed by an inning-ending double play.
Hiller faced the same daunting situation in the ninth. Bruce Bochte doubled, Dave Chalk walked, and rookie first baseman Jack Pierce, appearing in his first game as a Tiger, botched Dave Collins' sacrifice bunt to fill the bases with no outs. But the lefty struck out Leroy Stanton and Ellie Rodriguez, then got Billy Smith to pop out to second base to seal his ninth save.
The Tigers (17-27) have won the first two games of this eight-game road trip after a 1-10 stretch. They are 9-11 on the road, compared to 8-16 at home.
"No explanation for it," manager Ralph Houk said when the differing records were pointed out to him. "After you've been in this game as long as I have, you stop trying to figure certain things out."
Houk was more eager to talk about Lemanczyk, who was pressed into duty thanks to Sunday's doubleheader.
Lemanczyk's first start since April 30 was a gem
"I was really proud of Dave," Houk said. "To go over a month between starts isn't easy, but he made it look easy."
Of his 10 strikeouts, a career high, Lemanczyk said, "Sometimes they swing and miss. I had a good slider and some fastball movement."
Pierce was making his Tigers debut after being recalled from Toledo. The Tigers sent catcher Gene Lamont to the Mud Hens to make room for the tall, lefty-swinging first baseman.
Naturally, Pierce's promotion caused reporters to speculate about the future of Nate Colbert, who has struggled mightily as a Tiger.
Houk wouldn't comment, but GM Jim Campbell is with the team during the trip, which has fueled talk that a roster move involving Colbert was imminent.
Notes: Pierce was 0-for-4, but had an RBI ground out...Bill Freehan was hit by a pitch for the 110th time, a franchise record...Ron LeFlore's 0-for-5 makes him 12 for his last 58 AB...Angels starter Ed Figueroa pitched all nine innings, surrendering 10 hits but just the three runs...Houk said Joe Coleman, who injured his left knee in last night's game after just two innings, is feeling much better and should be able to make his next start.
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Tigers record: 17-27 (actual 21-23)
Home: 8-16
Away: 9-11
Last 10: 3-7
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