ANAHEIM, CA.-- 23-year-old Angels Pitcher Reid Detmers took the ball against future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw late Tuesday night in what turned out to be a classic heavyweight battle between two southpaws. Detmers matched Kershaw punch for punch en route to a masterful 7 innings that saw him allow just two hits on eight strikeouts. Both Detmers and Kershaw exited the game after the 7th inning with neither arm allowing a run, although a controversial play at the plate negated Detmers’ lone chance at run support to cap off the fourth inning. Reid Detmers left without a decision in the scorebook but made one thing clear– he has arrived.

Since I last wrote about Reid Detmers, he’s been dominant– tossing 18.2 innings over his last three starts with an ERA of just 0.69. My big key for a Detmers breakout was unlocking his ability to go deep into games and save the bullpen until the 7th or 8th innings, which he has done, averaging just under six innings per start over the last month. 

While Detmers’ Curveball is aesthetically pleasing, he has found a much more effective way to get hitters off balance with his Slider. He had been throwing the lateral breaker at around 89-90 mph last night, but last night's masterpiece featured a much slower Slider as it sat just above 87 mph. Detmers and Angels Catcher utilized the pitch about 36% of the time last night, generating swings and misses a whopping 39% of the time (Savant). 

The contending Angels sit at 41-35, 5 GB of the Texas Rangers and a half-game up on the Houston Astros. This is the deepest into the season I can remember the Angels contending since Mike Trouts’s last plate appearance. If he can keep being effective, expect the Angels to show extra motivation to go out and get another arm for a rotation that already features two workhorses in Shohei Ohtani. The desperation dial should be turned up a notch given Mike Trout’s advancing age and Shohei Ohtani’s pending Free Agency– but it might be Detmers that forces General Manager Perry Mianasian’s hand.