ANAHEIM — From Reid Detmers’ perspective, the three dominant starts that earned him his long awaited ticket back to the majors were actually no different than the ones that preceded them.
“Nothing really changed,” Detmers said on Sunday, the day he rejoined the Angels after three months in Triple-A. “Things just started going my way again, which was nice to see, and I took advantage of it the last couple starts.”
Detmers said during his time in Triple-A he didn’t change anything other than going back to the way he used to throw his slider. He had made various changes with the pitch — sometimes throwing it harder or slower — during the previous couple years.
“Stuff was working,” Detmers said. “My stuff’s felt really good for a long time, but yeah, it kind of all came together the last couple starts.”
The Angels sent Detmers down when he had a 6.14 ERA after 12 starts. He then started 14 games in the minors, with a 5.54 ERA. It was a mix of good and bad games. Angels general manager Perry Minasian said he was waiting to see consistency. Detmers gave up three earned runs in 21 innings in his last three starts.
“It was tough,” Detmers said. “Obviously there were a lot of ups and downs, but the staff down there (pitching coach Shane Loux) and (manager Keith Johnson) are unbelievable. Kept me level headed. Any time they saw me getting down a little bit, they brought me back up. That was awesome. Really good dudes. Obviously it wasn’t easy. You’ve just got to take advantage of what you’ve got, and just keep your head down. Trust the process. That’s pretty much all I can say.”
While he was in the minors, Detmers missed enough time in the big leagues that his potential free agency has been pushed back by a year.
“I’m just gonna leave that alone,” Detmers said. “I’m not going to say anything on that.”
Detmers will still be arbitration eligible this winter as a Super Two, meaning he will get four years of arbitration instead of three.
Detmers is set to make his return official when he starts on Tuesday night against the Dodgers — and Shohei Ohtani.
“I’m ready to go,” Detmers said. “I’ve been ready to go for a long time. Just excited to get back pitching at the Big A and have fun again.”
A day after manager Ron Washington removed shortstop Zach Neto from the game because of a mental lapse, Washington said he hoped that everyone on the team would see that those type of mistakes won’t be tolerated.
“The way I sent the message everybody saw it,” Washington said. “If I wanted it to be a different way, it would have been private. When it’s not private, it is for everyone. When it’s private, it’s just for that person. So yesterday, it was for everyone. But the main culprit was Neto.”
Washington suggested that Neto had been taking his at-bats into the field, something which Neto admitted last week has been a problem.
Neto failed to cover second base on a stolen base attempt in the fourth inning and he made a physical error — misplaying a ground ball — in the fifth inning. He was pulled for the sixth.
Neto was back in the lineup, batting second, on Sunday.
The Angels have attempted several suicide squeeze plays this year, and more often than not they’ve failed.
Jack López couldn’t get the ball far enough from the plate to make the play work on Saturday. Washington said on Sunday his players need to be better at the fundamentals when the game is on the line.
“They need to work on their heartbeat,” Washington said. “I’m 72 years old, and I can go up there and put a bunt down. It’s not a difficult fundamental in the game of baseball. It comes down to the player executing it, and I can’t do anything about their heartbeat. I can’t do anything about the nervousness. And they’re aware that we will use it, and I only use it with the guys who are supposed to be able to do it. And sometimes you’ve got to go through things to figure it out.”
The Angels called up infielder Charles Leblanc to be their extra position play for the September roster expansion. Detmers is the extra pitcher. …
Catcher Logan O’Hoppe had the day off on Sunday, which allows him to have two straight days off, including Monday’s off day. O’Hoppe is hitting .093 with an OPS of .301 over his last 93 plate appearances. He came into Sunday leading the majors in innings behind the plate this season.
Dodgers (TBD) at Angels (LHP Reid Detmers, 3-6, 6.14), at Angel Stadium, 6:38 p.m. PT Tuesday, Bally Sports West, 830 AM.
