ANAHEIM -- Lefty Reid Detmers reached a significant milestone on Saturday, becoming just the 12th Angels pitcher to record 200 strikeouts in a season and the first left-hander to do so since Chuck Finley in 1999.
Detmers struck out five batters to reach 204 on the year. Afterwards, the offense battled back, with Vaughn Grissom delivering a game-tying solo homer in the ninth and Christian Moore coming through with a walk-off RBI single with two outs in the 11th to lift the Angels to a 6-5 victory over the Twins at Angel Stadium. It marked the fourth win in six games for the Angels, who need to go 3-4 over their last seven games to avoid reaching 100 losses for the first time in franchise history.
It was a rare showing of run support for Detmers, who otherwise had an uncharacteristically tough night, allowing four runs on six hits over five innings in a no-decision. It snapped a streak of seven straight quality starts for Detmers, who entered with an MLB-best 1.65 ERA in 11 outings since the All-Star break.
But it was still an impressive feat for Detmers to become the first Angels pitcher to top 200 strikeouts in a season since Shohei Ohtani struck out 219 batters in 2022. In his first season back in the rotation after pitching exclusively in relief last year, the 27-year-old has posted a 3.47 ERA with a 1.05 WHIP and 46 walks in 179 innings. He’s expected to make one more start next week in Seattle to cap his stellar season.
Detmers is one of eight pitchers in the Majors with at least 200 strikeouts this year, and even after giving up four runs for the first time since he surrendered five on July 9, he still has a 2.05 ERA with 81 strikeouts in 70 1/3 innings since the All-Star break. It proved wise not to move him at the Trade Deadline, especially because he remains under team control for two more seasons, giving the Angels a top-of-the-rotation starter for years to come.