Detmers deals in Texas duel, sets new career benchmarks

ARLINGTON -- Before Friday, the Angels could have made a strong case that 2026 was already the best of Reid Detmers’ six MLB seasons.

Now it’s official.

With six scoreless frames during the Angels' 2-1, 10-inning loss to the Rangers at Globe Life Field, the lefty Detmers surpassed his previous career highs in innings pitched (149) and strikeouts (172). He had already set a personal record in quality starts; now he has a team-leading 11 this year.

“It’s been good -- six or seven starts to go, the body feels great,” Detmers said.

Detmers sailed through four innings Friday, then weathered a fifth-inning storm. After loading the bases with one out, Detmers induced a grounder to third to get a forceout at the plate. Still with the bases loaded, Detmers struck out Corey Seager looking at a fastball for the final out. Detmers set up the Rangers' slugger with a slider in the dirt, down and away, before freezing Seager with a 93-mph four-seam fastball right down the middle.

“I've faced Corey a lot over the last couple years, and I've thrown a lot of sliders to him, thrown a lot of fastballs, and the bases were loaded, and thought I'd go with the pitch that felt the best,” Detmers said. “He took some really good sliders [in previous at-bats]. So in my head, I knew he was sitting on the slider, and I just thought I’d challenge him with the fastball.”

Although Detmers put himself into a few quagmires, notably the fifth-inning jam, he dug his way out each time. Detmers only struck out five, but the battle he won over Seager was a pivotal moment that helped the Halos hang around and take a scoreless tie into extra innings.

After Detmers’ dazzling outing last time out on Aug. 15 -- when he struck out 11 Royals in eight shutout innings and allowed only two hits -- he wasn’t quite as dominant Friday. He threw 89 pitches, 59 strikes and surrendered six hits and one walk.

“I didn't have quite the stuff I had last week,” Detmers said. “The slider wasn't as good as it's been, but we managed to work around it and use the other pitches I have. That's why I have four pitches, and I kept them to no runs, got through six and gave the team a chance to win.”

Relievers José Fermin, Tayler Saucedo and Ryan Watson also did their part to keep the game scoreless, blanking the Rangers for an inning each in the seventh, eighth and ninth. But the Angels’ offense was listless after an 18-run outburst in the previous night’s win in Houston.

“It’s not going to be perfect every night,” manager Kurt Suzuki said.

The Angels had only two hits Friday until the 10th, when Denzer Guzman led off with an RBI double that drove in the automatic runner, Jose Siri.

The Halos had Guzman on second and nobody out but stranded him.

“Definitely a huge run out there -- obviously, we would have liked to cash it in,” Suzuki said.

After that, the Angels turned to closer Ben Joyce in the bottom of the 10th. The Rangers tied it on Wyatt Langford’s two-out opposite-field blooper to right, then walked it off on Ezequiel Duran’s hard one-hopper to Guzman at third base. Guzman reacted quickly and made a nifty diving grab to his right, but he threw wildly wide of second base for a throwing error that allowed Langford to score.

“We looked at the replay, I think a good throw gets him,” Suzuki said. “Obviously, one of those tough ones ... a great jump off the ball, great diving play, and just -- he didn't finish it.”