Reid Detmers ties career-high 12 strikeouts in Angels’ loss vs. Rangers

ANAHEIM — Lefty Reid Detmers’ final start of the year was a perfect microcosm of his season.

Detmers showed off his impressive stuff en route to tying a career high with 12 strikeouts, but he also struggled to locate his pitches at times and served up three homers in a 5-2 loss to the Rangers on Friday night at Angel Stadium.

He went five innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and a walk, to finish his season going 4-9 with a 6.70 ERA in 17 outings. He struck out 109, walked 38 and gave up 18 homers in 87 1/3 innings this season.

“It’s a lot to sort out,” Detmers said. “You have to take the positives and negatives. Obviously, it’s my last start of the year and I would’ve liked it to have gone better. Four runs in five innings is not ideal. There were a lot of positives but the negatives stand out more.”

It was supposed to be the year that Detmers put it all together and developed into a frontline starter. He had shown plenty of flashes in the past, including his no-hitter as a rookie in 2022, while also posting a combined 3.97 ERA in 57 starts from 2022-23, including finishing last year with a 2.41 ERA over his final seven starts.

Detmers, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2020 Draft, looked like an ace early this season with a 2.12 ERA through his first five outings. But after he registered a 9.40 ERA over his next six starts, the Angels had no choice but to send him to Triple-A Salt Lake in early June to get things right. But he had trouble finding his consistency there with a 5.54 ERA in 14 starts before finally turning things around in late August to earn a September callup.

It led to a strange stat line in September that saw him strike out 39 batters in 24 1/3 innings yet post an 8.14 ERA because he walked 11 and surrendered eight homers. Keeping the ball in the park was an issue, as he gave up a combined seven homers over his final three outings.

“It all comes down to fastball command,” Detmers said. “My last two starts, it wasn’t very good. But getting the fastball down in the zone helps.”

He had a rough first inning against the Rangers, giving up a two-run homer to Wyatt Lankford on a 1-0 changeup left up in the zone before allowing a solo shot to Adolis García on a 2-2 slider over the middle of the plate.

He settled down from there before permitting a solo shot to Carson Kelly on a first-pitch 91 mph fastball over the heart of the plate in the fourth inning. He otherwise limited the damage and kept Rangers’ hitters off-balance. He racked up 14 swings and misses among his 95 pitches, including eight with his slider and four with his four-seamer. He struck out half of the 24 batters he faced and threw first-pitch strikes to 18 of them.

“I thought he stood in there and battled,” manager Ron Washington said. “He just left three balls and that’s what they scored their runs on. But I liked the way he grinded and fought. I mean, in five innings he struck out 12. He should be proud but he just needs to find a way to stop giving up those home runs.”

The Angels remain hopeful that Detmers can figure it out and be a key part of their rotation next year. But there remains a chance he could be traded this offseason in a change of scenery move. The Angels, however, know how good he can be, so they’ll be hesitant to risk giving up on him too early. But Detmers said his main focus is on getting better.

“Obviously, this year has not been ideal,” Detmers said. “There’s a lot of stuff that went on. But just clear the mind a little bit, get back home and reassess everything. Just kind of pick out the positives and the things I did really good. And then work on the negatives and use those as motivation. I think the main thing is just getting that fastball location this offseason.”