ANAHEIM — On John Mozeliak’s first day at Angel Stadium with his new job, the Angels interim GM got to see what the team looks like when it is playing well.
They put together a little bit of everything in a 5-2 victory over the A’s on Saturday night, their third victory in the last four games.
Starter Reid Detmers gave up two runs, and then four relievers shut out the A’s, including Kirby Yates picking up his 100th career save.
Jo Adell drove in two runs to continue his hot streak. Denzer Guzman knocked in the go-ahead run in the seventh. And Oswald Peraza and Logan O’Hoppe had clutch RBI hits in the eighth to provide a cushion for Yates.
Yates got the ball instead of Sam Bachman, who is currently the Angels’ top high-leverage reliever, because manager Kurt Suzuki had him work the eighth against the heart of the A’s order with a one-run lead.
Bachman retired dangerous Nick Kurtz to start the inning, but he still ended up loading the bases on a hit and two walks before escaping.
The Angels (35-49) then added the insurance, setting up Yates for a 1-2-3 save. He picked up his 99th save on May 23. Since then, he has blown a save and taken three losses, costing him the closer job.
“It took a while,” Yates said. “Ultimately it’s probably the hardest one I’ve ever had to get. But I’m glad it’s over. It’s cool. Glad I finally got another chance to do it. I wasn’t so sure I’d get another chance a couple weeks ago, but finally got one. Been throwing the ball well, so it all worked out. This game has a crazy way of working itself out.”
Yates’ save was the end of a game started by Detmers, who represents one of the biggest questions Mozeliak will face.
Detmers gave up two runs in 5⅔ innings. He now has a 3.88 ERA, including a 2.42 mark over his last seven games. He has struck out 51 and walked 12 in his last 44⅔ innings.
Detmers is 25 and under control for at least two more seasons, which means he could be one of the most coveted players on the market if the Angels decide to move him before the Aug. 3 deadline.
Regardless of how far out of the race the Angels are now, if they trade away a pitcher who could help them in 2027 and 2028, it would be a significant shift in organizational thinking. In the past they’ve held on to players who would be around in the following season, with the idea that they could contend.
Mozeliak said in his introductory press conference earlier on Saturday that those decisions haven’t been made yet. So the questions will persist for the next month.
In the meantime, the better Detmers pitches, the more interesting the question will be.
The A’s have been the only team able to do anything with him over the past month. He has given up seven runs to the A’s in two starts and only five runs in the other five starts. In the start just before his current hot streak, Detmers gave up eight runs to the A’s.
“It feels like I face them a lot, and they’ve been giving me a little bit of trouble,” Detmers said. “They have really good ABs. They swing early, but then they see a lot of pitches. They take and just draw a lot of walks and make a lot of contact on me. I thought I gained a lot of knowledge last week facing them, and kind of took it into today. I kind of stuck to the plan and it worked pretty well.”
Detmers gave up a solo homer to Jonah Heim in the second inning. In the sixth, he gave up a run on a walk and two hits. Detmers also struck out eight, and he threw 68 strikes and 31 balls. He induced 18 whiffs, his third-highest total of the season.
The game was 2-2 when Detmers came out. The only two runs were produced by another player who could be an intriguing trade candidate: Jo Adell.
Adell pulled a two-run triple down the left-field line in the fourth inning, one of his two extra-base hits in the game. Adell is now hitting .316 with an .886 OPS over his last 18 games.
“I think he’s controlling the zone a lot better,” Suzuki said. “I think that’s the big thing. With his power and his ability, I think if he can control that zone, he’s going to become very dangerous. I think he’s been working hard in the cage and doing things in the cage with the coaches to to kind of hone in on that and and you’re seeing the results. He’s becoming dangerous in there.”