Kansas City Royals at Los Angeles Angels

Reid Detmers displayed why he was such a hot commodity leading up to the Trade Deadline, but also why the Angels opted to hold on to the talented lefty. Detmers struck out over 11 over eight scoreless innings in a 1-0 win over the Royals on Saturday night at Angel Stadium. He scattered two singles and didn’t walk a batter, lowering his ERA to 3.78 in 25 starts this year. He ranks seventh in the Majors with 167 strikeouts in 143 innings. Saturday marked the second time he reached double-digit strikeouts in a game this season after punching out 14 against Texas on May 24. “That's what an ace does,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “And he pitched like that tonight and was just in control the whole time. Really never any nervous at-bats. You could see he was locked in. He was hitting his spots, and they weren't picking up his slider. He was throwing his curveball for strikes. It was a really good performance.” He came into the start with a 3.86 ERA in 13 outings at home but an 0-5 record to show for it, as his previous three wins this year came on the road. Getting run support has been an issue for him all season -- the Angels have scored two runs or fewer in 14 of his 25 starts -- and it was again the case against Kansas City. But Detmers got his first win at Angel Stadium this year with Nolan Schanuel coming through with a go-ahead RBI single with one out in the eighth. Schanuel went 3-for-3 and has been heating up, including tying a career high with four RBIs on Friday. “It’s awesome,” Schanuel said. “Reid worked his butt off, and he definitely deserved it. If it happened an inning later, I think we would've felt a little bad. He’s been kind of getting bad luck when we're at home, so it's good to get him one here.” With Detmers pitching in relief last year, it marked his first home win as a starter since April 12, 2024. He knew it had been a while since he got a victory at home but said he didn’t put any extra pressure on himself. “I don't think about that stuff,” Detmers said. “It was obviously nice to get a win at home. But it felt good to give the team a chance to win and a really good outcome.”