ANAHEIM -- For three innings on Saturday against the Rangers, lefty Reid Detmers was cruising, as he struck out six of the first 12 batters he faced and had allowed just three hits through three scoreless frames.

But it unraveled in a hurry for Detmers in a three-run fourth inning, as he had trouble putting away batters, surrendering three hits with two strikes. It was too much for the Angels to overcome in a 10-1 loss to Texas at Angel Stadium, as the offense was held in check by right-hander Nathan Eovaldi and the Rangers tacked on seven runs in the ninth.

The up-and-down outing left Detmers searching for answers after the game, as he wasn’t sure if he was tipping pitches in the fourth because the Rangers were laying off quality pitches with two strikes.

“It’s hard when you throw a lot of good pitches and they take them, it makes you think a little bit.” Detmers said. “So I’m going back and see if I was doing anything. Or if it was just not good pitches ... or see if it’s the location, see what’s going on.”

But running into trouble after excelling early and giving up too many hits with two strikes have both become concerning trends for Detmers early this season. It was similar to his last start against the Brewers, when he struck out five of the first six batters he faced before giving up three runs in the third inning and not being able to make it out of the fifth.

Detmers seems to have trouble regaining his command after losing it in starts this season, which is a reason why he’s been inconsistent, posting a 5.10 ERA with 38 strikeouts, 12 walks and four homers allowed in 30 innings. He’s only pitched deeper than the sixth inning in one of his outings and has just one quality start.

But manager Phil Nevin still believes Detmers will turn it around, as his stuff looks even sharper than last year. Now, it’s about locating it better.

“I don't think the ERA and the numbers are indicative of really what his stuff has been this year and how well he’s pitched,” said Nevin. "He's still learning how to navigate a game. That's our job to keep him up with that. And he's gonna get better. I still have a lot of faith in him. He’s got such good stuff. We’re just waiting for that big one to come, and then he can fly.”

Even still, the Angels were hoping for a better start to the season from Detmers, especially after he posted a 3.04 ERA over his final 13 outings last year after a brief demotion to the Minors that saw him revamp his slider. But as Nevin noted, his stuff is certainly still there, as his seven strikeouts on Saturday featured an increased velocity, with his fastball reaching as high as 97.7 mph. He also registered eight swings and misses with his slider and three with his curve.

But the location of his pitches, especially with two strikes, has been an issue. Of the seven hits he surrendered, six came with two strikes. Opposing hitters are hitting .268 (19-for-71) against Detmers with two strikes, including 6-for-12 in 0-2 counts. For comparison, the MLB average batting average with two strikes is .170 and .147 in 0-2 counts this season.

“Some two-strike hits, but the stuff plays better than that,” Nevin said. “He's still learning. He's 23 years old and learning on the fly in this league. It’s a tough league, that's a really good lineup over there that has handled left-handers pretty well. Other than that, I mean, I liked the stuff, the stuff's been really good. You can see like frontline starter potential, and I believe he's gonna get there.”

Detmers gave up two hits in the fourth on 0-2 counts, as he allowed an RBI single to Jonah Heim on a curveball just under the zone before surrendering a two-out single to Leody Taveras on a fastball on the inner half. He also gave up an RBI single to Travis Jankowski on a 1-2 fastball over the middle.

He went back out for the fifth on 89 pitches, but after walking Nathaniel Lowe on five pitches, he was removed in favor of reliever Ryan Tepera. Detmers lasted just four-plus innings, his shortest start of the year.

“It started out well and then I don’t know, it’s obviously frustrating,” Detmers said. “I keep getting two strikes on a guy and then I give up a hit. It’s getting old.”