Angels and Royals look to two pitchers to recover

(Photo by Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)

The four days leading up to Opening Day may seem especially long for starting pitchers hoping to bounce back from poor performance on the mound. So will Reid Detmers and Michael Wacha, both of whom the Los Angeles Angels will face on Thursday night when they host the Kansas City Royals in Anaheim, California.

Angels left-hander Detmers will look to rediscover his early-season success, starting the first four games and going 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA. However, in his last three starts, he has 0 wins and 3 losses with an ERA of 8.15.

Of particular note, Detmers (3-3, 4.24 ERA) went 22 2/3 innings with zero home runs in his first four starts, compared to 17 2/3 innings in his last three starts. He has allowed 5 home runs.

Three of those home runs came in his last start against Cleveland last Saturday, but Detmers seemed even more frustrated with his four walks (including three in the first inning alone). .

Those three walks preceded a game-changing grand slam by Cleveland's Bo Naylor.

“It was a terrible performance,” Detmers said. “There's no other way to explain it. I just didn't play very well. I was feeling good, and the two home runs before that hurt, but I wasn't too concerned about it. But in the 6th inning… There's nothing we can do about three walks.'' And they made me pay. ”

Detmers has started two career games against the Royals and is 0-0 with a 5.91 ERA.

“It’s frustrating,” Detmers said. “I think we're going to end up executing. That's baseball. I have to live and learn. We're going to get through this, we're going to get through this. We just started from the beginning. I just have to make it to the end.'' (Thursday) He is looking forward to the new challenge. ”

Royals right-hander Wacha (1-4, 5.50) has struggled for most of the season, his only win coming on April 6 against the lowly Chicago White Sox (seven scoreless innings).

His most recent start was his worst of the season, giving up seven runs in 3 2/3 innings against the Texas Rangers last Saturday. Wacha said his challenge is falling behind early in the count and letting batters sit on his fastballs.

“Every time I throw a fastball in that count, they’re ready for it,” Wacha said. “I'm not getting the swings and whiffs that I wanted, but that comes from getting better in the count, continuing to attack, and being able to have a good combination of throwing strikes on every pitch.”

Wacha has had an underwhelming record against the Angels during his career, posting a 3-0 record with a 0.44 ERA in three starts, including a shutout when pitching for the Red Sox in 2022. There is.

On Wednesday, the Angels defeated the Pirates 5-4, their second series win of the season. Their only other series win came in a three-game series against the Miami Marlins from April 1-3.

On Wednesday, the Royals defeated the Brewers 6-4, winning two of three in the series.

–Field level media