Detmers impresses again, looks to end season in good form

MINNEAPOLIS -- It’s only been two starts, but left-hander Reid Detmers has been impressive in his return to the rotation after a three-month stint at Triple-A Salt Lake.

After striking out 10 over six solid innings against the first-place Dodgers on Tuesday, he followed that up by throwing six more strong frames in a 6-2 win over the contending Twins on Monday at Target Field. Detmers struck out eight and allowed two runs on five hits and two walks to improve to 4-6 with a 5.64 ERA in 14 starts this year.

“He gave us another outstanding outing,” manager Ron Washington said. “He was able to spot his fastball around the zone, make some good pitches with his curveball and his slider. And again, he was in command.”

Since rejoining the rotation, Detmers has posted a 3.00 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 12 innings against two clubs firmly in the postseason race. It’s a continuation of what he had been doing recently at Triple-A with a 1.29 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 21 innings over his last three starts.

It’s an important final month for Detmers, who was expected to be a big part of the rotation this year, only to struggle in late April and May to get demoted to Triple-A Salt Lake in early June. He also had trouble getting things going in the Minors before turning it around over the last month. But if he can finish on a high note, he’ll put himself in a better position heading into next year.

“You always want to finish strong, especially in my last two starts I have left,” Detmers said. “I’m trying to give it my all and get my name back out there. And trying to make a statement and show everybody who I am.”

Detmers, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2020 Draft, still has plenty of potential and has shown flashes of it, including throwing a no-hitter as a rookie in 2022 and posting a combined 4.15 ERA in 53 starts with the Angels from 2022-23. But the 25-year-old is a streaky pitcher and needs to learn to be more consistent.

He has elite stuff, as evidenced by his four-seamer that reached as high as 95.6 mph against the Twins, which he pairs with his slider, curveball and occasional changeup. His slider was a key pitch for him against Minnesota, getting nine swings and misses with it. He also registered two with his curveball, including fooling Royce Lewis in the fifth to get a big strikeout with a runner on base.

“The offspeed felt good,” Detmers said. “The changeup felt really good, but the slider was a strikeout pitch. The curveball was there when I needed it to be.”

He cruised early, facing the minimum through the first two frames before running into some trouble in the third. He gave up a leadoff double to Michael Helman before giving up a two-out RBI single to veteran Carlos Santana. He then walked Ryan Jeffers, but struck out Jose Miranda on three pitches to get out of the jam.

Detmers also gave up a solo homer to Kyle Farmer with two outs in the fourth when he left a 2-1 curveball over the middle of the plate and Farmer pulled it down the left-field line.

But Detmers settled down after that to get through six innings for a second straight start. And he said he reflected plenty during his time in the Minors in an effort to get back to where he was early in the season when he had a 1.19 ERA through his first four starts.

“I took a lot of time thinking about what I was doing the first month of the year and I’m trying to get back to that,” Detmers said. “And obviously the second month of the year was really hard. And so I had a lot of time to think when I was down there and I’m just trying to get back to my old self.”

The offense backed Detmers early, as the Angels scored two runs right out of the gate on a two-run single from Nolan Schanuel just three batters into the game. They tacked on two more runs in the third on a two-run blast from Brandon Drury before Niko Kavadas added a two-run shot of his own in the sixth. Drury said he was pleased to support Detmers.

“He’s nasty,” Drury said of Detmers. “He’s a really good pitcher. When he has his stuff, he can mow down any lineup.”