For Detmers, magical no-hitter 'still a blur'

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Reid Detmers still has trouble remembering everything from his incredible no-hitter against the Rays on Tuesday.

The left-hander said he was so locked in on the mound and overcome with emotion when he completed the no-hitter that he only can recall bits and parts of his historic night. But first baseman Jared Walsh made sure to get Detmers the ball from the final out, which Detmers is keeping in a bag before he decides what he wants to do with it.

“It’s still a blur,” Detmers said. “Thinking back on it, I remember getting the last out and that’s pretty much it. Hanging out in the locker room, I remember that. It was a dream come true. It was a crazy day.”

There are all sorts of unbelievable stats from the game, including the fact that Detmers had never pitched nine innings at any level, including high school, college, the Minors or the Majors. It also came in just the 11th career start for the 22-year-old, which made him the youngest pitcher to throw a no-hitter in club history and the first Angels rookie to throw one since Bo Belinsky in 1962. He also is just the third pitcher to be less than two years removed from being drafted and throw a no-hitter, joining Burt Hooton in 1972 and Steve Busby in 1973.

Angels manager Joe Maddon believes Detmers will pitch with more conviction heading into his next start, which is expected to come on Tuesday in Texas, as he now knows what he’s capable of doing. Detmers, the No. 10 overall pick out of the University of Louisville in 2020, was regarded as a top prospect, but had a career 6.33 ERA before throwing the no-hitter.

“For a young man like that, throwing 100 pitches should not be a big deal, and the ability to throw nine innings ... they should all want to do that every time,” Maddon said. “I like it. I think this can be transformative. I would think he's going to get a nice bump.”

Detmers said the no-hitter helped his confidence and he's looking forward to building on his historic outing.

“Obviously my next outing, I don't really expect the same thing,” Detmers said with a laugh. “But I just want to keep the same mentality and trust my stuff. That's really all I'm going to focus on.”