First Pitch: All the ways Reid Detmers made history with Angels no-hitter

Los Angeles Angels rookie Reid Detmers threw a no-no against the Tampa Bay Rays while you were sleeping. The 22-year-old made some history in the process.

Detmers, despite being a rookie and not having thrown a complete game in his professional career (this includes the minor leagues), was allowed to go the distance by manager Joe Maddon.

Unlike that other team in the Los Angeles metro area, Maddon doesn’t pull his starters when they have a chance at history — history which Detmers completed with ease against a Rays team that just wanted the night to end.

“It’s just something I’ve dreamed of ever since I was a little kid,” Detmers said, per The Athletic. “I didn’t think it’d ever happen. I don’t even know. I probably won’t even remember this tomorrow.”

The rookie collected just two strikeouts in the process, and allowed only one baserunner. At 108 pitches, he was efficient enough for his manager Maddon to feel comfortable allowing him to go out for the vital ninth inning.

“He had much better mound presence tonight,” Maddon said. “He just looked and felt the part tonight. Bully for him. That’s potentially a life-altering event.”

Angels: How Reid Detmers made history

Detmers is the youngest Angels pitcher to throw a no-hitter, and the youngest in MLB since Anibal Sanchez in 2006, per ESPN. A second piece of history? In a league trending even more towards long bullpen stints, Detmers was the first individual no-hitter by an Angels pitcher since Jered Weaver in 2012.

“It’s amazing. We were just talking about it in the training room,” Anthony Rendon said. “Some of the guys were saying, ‘What were you doing at 22 years old?’ If you just watch the way he goes about his business, he just keeps his composure. I think that’s what’s awesome and unique to watch about him, being so young.”

Rendon helped Detmers’ cause by hitting a home run, left-handed I might add, in garbage time to ease some of the pressure. Had Detmers not completed his no-no, that might’ve been the storyline of this piece.

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Instead, the night belonged to Detmers, who had piled up just 62 minor-league innings total prior to his history-defining event. He had plenty of run support from the Angels — 12 runs, that is — but one would’ve sufficed.

In this unique way, both Detmers and his teammates combined for a history on Tuesday night.

Detmers’ lone walk and a line drive shortly thereafter by Vidal Bruján — which was swiftly caught on a leaping grab by Rendon — was the only danger he faced. Jared Walsh recorded an error in the seventh inning, a blemish he welcomed with open arms. The official scorer made for some tense moments, but eventually came to the right conclusion.

On a night dedicated to Shohei Ohtani, who received his 2021 AL MVP in front of home fans, it was Detmers who instead stole the show. Mike Trout hit two home runs — surely another storyline stolen by the 22-year-old — as well as the aforementioned Rendon bomb from the left-hand side of the plate.

Yes, despite the star power the Angels have at their disposal, it’ll be the glue guys like Detmers who determine whether or not Anaheim has what it takes to make a leap to the postseason over the likes of the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners in their own division.

For now, though, we’ll let a rookie enjoy his early-season dream. More daunting days lie ahead.