The Angels’ pitching plan for their series with the Astros in Houston includes Michael Lorenzen starting on Friday, Shohei Ohtani on Saturday and Tucker Davidson on Sunday. The plan shifts Reid Detmers to a Monday start in Cleveland against the Guardians.
The move, interim manager Phil Nevin said, gives Detmers an extra day of rest and resets the rotation with Lorenzen returning from a right shoulder strain that has sidelined him since the first week of July.
“Not really anything to do with the results,” Nevin said before the game with the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday at Angel Stadium. “He’s in an area where he hasn’t been before. Do we see signs of him being tired? I don’t know. I think the stuff’s still good. Still coming out good. I just want him to be as strong as he can to finish the year.”
In three starts against the Astros, Detmers has had varying degrees of success. On July 14, he threw six innings, giving up two earned runs, walking three and striking out six. His last outing against them, on Sept. 2, he pitched 4 1/3 innings, giving up four earned runs, walking two and striking out six.
“I feel fine. Just didn’t make pitches I needed to in big situations,” Detmers said after that game. “Other than that, I can’t really complain. I had a couple of walks that I got frustrated with, but it really just came down to making the pitches I needed to make big situations.”
As for that uncharted territory, this is Detmers’ first, for the most part full, season in the majors — he was sent to the minor leagues for a few weeks in the middle of this season to work on the arm angle of his slider.
As a result, he has far surpassed the most innings he has thrown at the professional level. Detmers was drafted by the Angels in 2020. He pitched 62 innings in the minors in 2021 before being called up for 20 2/3 innings with the Angels
This season, Detmers has already thrown 108 innings and has at least four more starts.
“I think he’s been great, I mean he hasn’t missed a start all year,” Nevin said. “The health has been great, he feels strong. But you get to these points, and it’s not gonna limit his innings … but it’s more giving him this little rest in a late season push.
“This is a huge learning experience for guys like him, [José] Suarez, [Patrick Sandoval], to pitch all the way through the season.”
Trout, Ohtani homer in loss
Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani celebrates in the dugout after hitting a home run during the seventh inning against the Detroit Tigers at Angel Stadium on Wednesday.
(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)
It was another hot day in Anaheim, hitting 99 degrees at first pitch of a Wednesday matinee with the Tigers. Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani’s bats proved, yet again, to be just as hot.
In the fifth inning, Trout hit his 32nd home run of the season. He crushed Will Vest’s 2-and-2 four-seam fastball 393 feet to the digital billboards in right-center field.
The blast tied his career high for most consecutive games with a homer at four. The last time he homered in four straight games was April 4-7, 2019, the year he won his third American League most valuable player award. He also accomplished the feat in May 2017.
“Just happens,” Trout said of his streak. “Getting the pitch, hit and put a good swing on it.”
The homer gave the Angels a 3-1 lead.
Ohtani, a frontrunner for this year’s AL MVP award, homered in the seventh inning, after the Tigers tied the score at 3-3 in the top of the inning. The homer was his 33rd of the season, which tied him with the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts for fifth most in the majors.
It was the eighth time this season that Trout and Ohtani have hit home runs in the same game and the 22nd time overall since the two have been teammates.
“I think it’s been cool,” Trout said of the games in which he and Ohtani have both homered. “A lot of people, especially the last couple days, are saying we’re pushing each other for the home run lead and that’s pretty cool.
“I’m not trying to go up there and hit a home run. He isn’t either. It’s just having good at-bats.”
The Angels went on to lose to the Tigers, 5-4.
Matt Thaiss was the Angel who got his team on the board and in the lead in the fourth inning.
The Angels had trailed 1-0 in the top of the inning, after Sandoval gave up a solo home run to Spencer Torkelson. Sandoval pitched five innings of six-hit, one-run, one-walk baseball, striking out four.
“A little bit of a grind. Hot day,” Sandoval said of his outing. “Changeup wasn’t really there, had to kind of rely on the slider a lot more today.”
Thaiss’ home run, a two-run shot and his first homer of the season put the Angels ahead 2-1.
The Tigers got two more runs off relievers Andrew Wantz and Jaime Barría, on a solo home run by Eric Haase and an RBI single by Willi Castro. The Angels lost the lead in the ninth after José Quijada gave up two solo home runs.
Archie Bradley update
Archie Bradley (elbow) threw 20 pitches in a bullpen session Wednesday and said he felt good afterward. The plan is for him to travel with the team to continue throwing more bullpen sessions.
When the team returns, he could start throwing to live hitters in batting practice or throw an inning at Class-A Inland Empire if that team is still playing — the 66ers are in the playoffs and have a best-of-three series against the Padres’ Lake Elsinore affiliate on Sept. 13-16. The last day of the Angels’ trip is Sept. 14.