Los Angeles Angels rookie left-hander Reid Detmers has made history. Detmers, in his 11th career big-league start, no-hit the Tampa Bay Rays at Angel Stadium (LAA 12, TB 0) on Tuesday night. He walked one and struck out only two, and threw a career high 108 pitches.
Here’s the final out of the no-hit effort:
Because he struck out only two batters, Detmers kept his defense busy, and he recorded 11 outs on the ground against 14 in the air. His average exit velocity allowed was a mere 87.6 mph, and, according to Statcast, only five of the 15 balls Detmers allowed in play had better than a 50 percent chance to go for a base hit based on exit velocity and launch angle. He was dominant.
Detmers, 22, was the No. 10 pick in the 2020 draft, and he came into the season as the Angels’ top prospect. After getting his feet wet late last year, he opened this season in the club’s rotation, and he took a 1-1 record and a 5.32 ERA into Tuesday’s start. Detmers had never thrown more than six innings in any of his 24 pro starts prior into Tuesday, majors or minors.
Our R.J. Anderson ranked Detmers the No. 25 prospect in baseball coming into the season. Here’s a snippet of his scouting report:
The book on Detmers coming out of Louisville was that he was a polished strikethrower who would move through the minors quickly. Sure enough, Detmers reached the majors after 13 professional appearances. He ended up making five big-league starts, during which he amassed a 7.40 ERA and a 1.73 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Those numbers belie that he’s still a legitimate mid-rotation prospect who pairs a low-90s fastball with a big-time curveball and a slider that fared well in The Show. Detmers should get a longer look in the majors in 2022, and those numbers should improve as the sample size increases.
The no-hitter is only the third complete game and second complete-game shutout in baseball this season. Complete games have been going out of style for years, and with the short spring training this year, teams have been careful with their pitchers and kept them on tight pitch counts. Detmers’ 108 pitches are the fifth most by a pitcher in a game this season.
The Angels now have 12 no-hitters in their franchise’s history. Prior to Detmers, the most recent was a Taylor Cole and Félix Peña combined no-hitter against the Mariners on July 12, 2019. It was the first game following the death of Tyler Skaggs. The entire Angels team wore No. 45 jerseys in his honor that night.
Former Marlins president David Samson discussed Detmers’ feat on Wednesday’s Nothing Personal with David Samson. Listen below:
The Rays, meanwhile, have been no-hit six times in their history. The last time prior to Detmers was Felix Hernandez’s perfect game on Aug. 15, 2012.
Detmers was staked to an early 8-0 lead thanks to home runs from Mike Trout and Chad Wallach. Trout hit another home run late in the game, and Anthony Rendon went deep as a left-handed batter. Yes, as a lefty. Typically a righty, Rendon hit lefty against position player Brett Phillips, and launched a two-run bomb.
The no-hitter is the second in baseball this season, and the first by a single pitcher. Five Mets pitchers combined to no-hit the Phillies on April 29. Astros ace Justin Verlander took a no-hitter into the eighth inning Tuesday night as well.
