The Los Angeles Angels and L.A. Dodgers begin a two-game Freeway Series on Tuesday. The two sides split the first meeting back on June 21 and 22 when the Halos were still going through some issues with their starting rotation. By this point, they had lost some starters to injury and had demoted Reid Detmers to Triple-A Salt Lake after a tough start to the season.
The Angels demoted Detmers on June 2 after compiling a 6.14 ERA and 1.476 WHIP for a 70 ERA+ in his first 63 innings of the season. He has spent the rest of the season with the Salt Lake Bees trying to get back to the pitcher that the Angels felt could be a cornerstone of their rotation.
He struggled at first, leading to rumors that he could be dealt at the trade deadline as a reclamation project. But he has turned things around in his last three starts, posting a 1.29 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 21 innings. Because of that, the Angels are giving Detmers another chance to shine.
Detmers is re-joining the Angels on Tuesday and will start against the Dodgers as he gets another shot in the starting rotation. Detmers faces off against Walker Buehler, who has had an equally difficult year in his return from Tommy John surgery, making for a fascinating series opener.
The last time Detmers pitched a Major League game, he gave up five earned runs on four hits with four walks in 3.2 innings against the Seattle Mariners on June 1. The last time he gave up less than three earned runs in a start was on April 17 against the Tampa Bay Rays, when he allowed one earned run in 5.1 innings.
This is an incredible opportunity for Detmers to pitch at the Major League level in what is a relatively low pressure situation. The Angels have no urgency to win games at this stage of the season and are strictly focused on development, meaning they can afford to let Detmers work through struggles if he has them.
That might be enough to allow the young pitcher to toss freely and loosely and return to the pitcher that the team once felt could be a stalwart in their big league plans.
Angels get history from Caden Dana
If all goes according to plan, the Angels’ starting rotation could be taking shape in a significant way. Detmers has a chance to come back strong, and the Halos got a historic first start from Caden Dana, their No. 1 overall prospect. He shined on Sunday, becoming the youngest starter in Angels history to get a win in his MLB debut.
