Los Angeles Angels pitcher Reid Detmers, who recorded a no-hitter earlier this season, added an immaculate inning to his list of rookie year accomplishments.
Detmers, 23, struck out the Texas Rangers‘ Ezequiel Durán, Kole Calhoun and Charlie Culberson with nine pitches in the top of the second inning Sunday.
Detmers joined Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax (1962, ’63 and ’64) and Mike Fiers (2015) as the only pitchers to achieve that feat. Notably, Detmers also became the first rookie to do so. It was part of a stellar outing for the 23-year-old, who set a career high with 12 strikeouts over seven strong innings in a 5-2 loss at Angel Stadium.
“I didn’t know that, but that’s pretty cool,” Detmers said when told of his achievement. “I don’t really know what to say. My stuff was working and I felt good, and I got some swings and misses.”
Detmers had been struggling since his no-hitter. He was sent down to Triple-A Salt Lake for a couple of weeks before being recalled, and has impressed the club ever since.
“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.”
Before Detmers, Houston’s Mike Fiers in 2015 was the latest to do the immaculate/no-hitter double in the same year.
It is only the third immaculate inning in Angels history, with all three occurring in the second inning. Nolan Ryan was the first on July 9, 1972, against Boston, and Garrett Richards accomplished it on June 4, 2014, at Houston.
Immaculate innings remain special but aren’t as rare as they once were. This is the 10th since 2020 and 61st since 2000. There were none recorded from 1929 to 1952.
