Los Angeles Angels starter Reid Detmers is just 23 years old, yet he’s already accomplished quite a bit in his second MLB season. He’s thrown a no-hitter, an immaculate inning, and has posted a quality 3.88 ERA in 24 starts this season.
However, his start against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night pointed to a troubling trend about his September performances. After allowing just seven earned runs in four starts in August — a 2.91 ERA — he has given up 13 earned runs in less innings over four starts in the final month of the season.
His ERA is 6.05 in September, after allowing four earned runs — five total — on eight hits and just two strikeouts in 4.0 innings against the Twins. The 23-year old discussed what was a difficult outing filled with hard contact by a somewhat offensively-challenged Twins lineup, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“I just didn’t have it tonight,” Detmers said. “Just one of those days. There’s not a whole lot to say. I just didn’t execute pitches when I needed to. The only bright side was there were no walks. Other than that, it wasn’t the best performance.”
Detmers used this to reflect on his 2022 campaign as a whole, giving an honest assessment of what has been a relatively successful sophomore season.
“There has been a lot of good and a lot of bad,” Detmers said. “There are a lot of good things I can take from, but there’s also some stuff I can learn from. I’m probably going to take the bad stuff with me into the offseason. I have one start left so I’m not really thinking about it yet, but after next week, I’ll start thinking about it a little more. Just see how I can get better and what I need to do.”
Detmers is scheduled to start on October 1 against the Texas Rangers, and it’ll be his last before he heads into a critical offseason of development. He’s hoping to go into the offseason on a high note, clearing himself of his most recent four starts.
One major focus for Detmers will be getting himself out of trouble early. The Angels starter allowed three runs in the first two innings on RBIs from Gio Urshela, Gary Sanchez, and Carlos Correa. He also has continued to work on limiting the home run ball, as he hasn’t allowed a big fly in his last six starts.
Shohei Ohtani keeping himself firmly in Cy Young race
Even in a less-than-ideal performance on the mound — six walks allowed — Shohei Ohtani managed to limit damage to only two runs and secure a win, as well as his 200th strikeout of the season.
After the game, interim manager Phil Nevin staked his claim that Ohtani deserves to be in the Cy Young race, as he has been one of the most consistent pitchers in the AL this season. Ohtani should be able to hit the 162.0 innings needed to qualify for major pitching awards.
