Los Angeles Angels pitcher Reid Detmers has had an up-and-down season in 2022. However, he has made history along the way.
Detmers threw the 109th immaculate inning on Sunday against the Texas Rangers. With that, he became the first pitcher in seven years to throw an immaculate inning and a no-hitter in the same season.
Detmers struck out Ezequiel Duran, Kole Calhoun, and Charlie Culberson in the second inning on just nine pitches. It is the third time the Rangers have had an immaculate inning pitched against them this season. The only other team in major league history to share their misfortune is the 1979 San Francisco Giants.
“That's pretty cool, I really don't know what to say,” Detmers told reporters after the game. “My stuff was working and I got a ton of swings and misses.”
Detmers struggled following his no-hitter against the Tampa Bay Rays in May. The Angels even demoted him to Triple-A Salt Lake, but the rookie pitcher has impressed since his return to the big leagues.
“I was focused on throwing more strikes,” the Angels hurler said. He acknowledged he started rough, but he was fine with the way he finished. “I was a little wild in the first. I wanted to throw strikes and pound the zone,” Detmers said.
“His presence, everything about him has been pretty good,” Angels interim manager Phil Nevin said. “Quite frankly, he shouldn't have given up any runs today.”
While Detmers did give up runs on Sunday, he didn't give up many. The 23-year-old went seven innings, striking out a career-high 12 batters while giving up two runs on three hits.
This was the third immaculate inning in Angels' history. Nolan Ryan accomplished the feat for the first time on July 9, 1972. Garrett Richards did it on June 4, 2014.
While still special, immaculate innings have generally become more commonplace across MLB. Detmers' inning is the 10th such inning since 2020, and the 61st since 2000. This pales significantly in comparison to how things used to be. There are no records of an immaculate inning from 1929 to 1950.
Detmers may have made history, but the Rangers got the last laugh as they won the game 5-2.
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