Detmers Was Dealing. The Offense Forgot to Show Up.
Friday night at Angel Stadium had all the makings of a great home opener story. Reid Detmers was sharp, the crowd was into it, and the pitching staff kept the Mariners off the board inning after inning. The only problem was the offense never showed up.
The Angels dropped the home opener 3-1 in ten innings, and it stings because this one wasn't on the pitching. Not even close.
Detmers was outstanding. Six and two thirds innings, three hits, zero runs, four strikeouts. After two rocky outings earlier this season this was the Detmers that Angels fans have been waiting to see — attacking hitters, pitching with conviction, and making Bryan Woo work for every out. Unfortunately Woo matched him pitch for pitch and then some. The Mariners' right hander was dominant — seven innings, one hit, zero runs, six strikeouts. One hit. The Angels managed one hit against Woo over seven innings.
That's the story. Detmers kept this team in the game long enough to win it but the offense gave him nothing to work with. A .034 batting average on the night. One hit total in ten innings of baseball. Zero hits with runners in scoring position. The lineup that was smashing home runs and piling up runs against Houston has now gone ice cold over the last several games. It's a concern that needs to be addressed quickly.
The game went to extras tied at zero and the Mariners did what good teams do in those situations — they strung together some hits and put three runs on the board off Brent Suter in the tenth. Josh Naylor delivered the big blow with a two-run single that broke the Angels' hearts. The Angels answered with just a run in the bottom of the tenth — a Jorge Soler RBI — but it wasn't nearly enough.
The silver lining here — and it's a real one — is Detmers. This was the performance this rotation needed from him. Command was sharp, stuff was working, and he gave the Angels every chance to win this game. If the offense scores two runs tonight they probably win. That's how good Detmers was.
Romano was excellent again in relief. Silseth and Pomeranz did their jobs. This bullpen continues to be one of the more reliable units in the AL through the first week and a half of the season.
The Angels now sit 3-5 and face the Mariners again Saturday. The home crowd is here, the pitching has been better than the record suggests, and the offense simply has to wake up. These hitters are too talented to keep going cold.
Detmers did his job. Now it's time for the bats to return the favor.
