Reid Detmers Pitched a Shutout and Still Lost, Now He's Got One Chance to Save the Angels' Series

Reid Detmers did everything right on Friday and got absolutely nothing for it. The Angels' left-hander allowed just three singles over 6 2/3 shutout innings against Seattle, walked four, struck out four, and still watched his team lose 3-1 in 10 innings. Now, in the rubber match against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday afternoon in Anaheim, he gets a chance to actually get a decision when it matters.

Detmers takes the mound at 0-0 with a 2.38 ERA, squaring off against Braves right-hander Grant Holmes, who is also winless at 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA. Holmes was equally dominant in his last outing, allowing just one hit and striking out four over six shutout innings in Atlanta's 2-0 win at Arizona on Friday. The Braves starter has never lost to the Angels in his career, going 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 10 strikeouts over six scoreless innings in a 4-0 loss on July 1, 2025.

Angels manager Kurt Suzuki had no complaints about his pitcher's effort. "I thought he was great," Suzuki said of Detmers. "Under control, executed, made pitches. He freaking pitched his butt off." The problem is Detmers has been on the wrong end of two straight games where dominant pitching meant nothing.

The Angels Split the First Two, and Things Got Ugly Fast

Los Angeles won Monday's series opener 6-2 behind home runs from Zach Neto and Jo Adell, plus eight dominant innings from Jose Soriano. But Atlanta fired back on Tuesday with a 7-2 victory that included way more drama than anyone needed. Ozzie Albies hit his third homer of the series, but the real story exploded in the fifth inning when Braves starter Reynaldo Lopez and Angels designated hitter Jorge Soler threw down right in the middle of Angel Stadium.

Soler crushed a two-run shot in the first, his fifth home run in 23 career at-bats against Lopez. In the third, Lopez hit him on the wrist. Then in the fifth, a head-high fastball sailed to the backstop. That was enough. Soler charged the mound, and the two went wild swinging at each other, with neither landing clean. Dugouts emptied. Atlanta manager Walt Weiss tackled Soler to the ground, while Mike Trout grabbed Lopez.

Suzuki defended his guy hard. "Any time you get thrown at your head, you have a family, your career, it's dangerous," he said. "I don't blame Jorge one bit."

Soler saw it as intentional. "He didn't miss with the other hitters like that," he said through an interpreter. "So I think it was intentional."

Lopez disagreed. "It was a misunderstanding," he said via interpreter. "I would never do anything. There was never any intent on my part to hit him at all at any point."

Detmers Needs This One

The series is tied at one apiece, and Detmers, despite his Friday masterclass, sits at 0-0. He is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in two career appearances against Atlanta, so the matchup favors him. Grant Holmes has never beaten the Angels. Wednesday afternoon, one of these pitchers finally gets a W.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.