Reid Detmers aims to guide Angels to series win vs. Braves

Two pitchers coming in off strong starts in which they did not gain a decision will take the mound Wednesday afternoon when the Los Angeles Angels face the Atlanta Braves in the rubber match of their three-game series in Anaheim, Calif.

Los Angeles left-hander Reid Detmers (0-0, 2.38 ERA) will start in the series finale after allowing just three singles over 6 2/3 shutout innings in his team's 3-1, 10-inning loss to Seattle on Friday.

Detmers will oppose right-hander Grant Holmes (0-1, 2.45 ERA), who yielded just one hit and struck out four over six shutout innings in a game Atlanta won 2-0 at Arizona on Friday.

Holmes is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in one career start against the Angels, striking out 10 and allowing three hits over six scoreless innings in a 4-0 loss on July 1, 2025.

Detmers is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in two career appearances (one start) vs. the Braves. He walked four batters and struck out four against the Mariners on Friday.

"I thought he was great," Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said of Detmers. "Under control, executed, made pitches. He freaking pitched his butt off."

Los Angeles, behind home runs by Zach Neto and Jo Adell and eight dominant innings from Jose Soriano, won the series opener with the Braves 6-2 on Monday. Atlanta bounced back for a 7-2 victory on Tuesday.

Ozzie Albies hit his third homer on Tuesday, but the story of the night was a fifth-inning fight between Braves starter Reynaldo Lopez and Los Angeles designated hitter Jorge Soler.

Soler hit a two-run shot in the first inning, his fifth home run in 23 career at-bats against Lopez. Soler was hit on his wrist in his next at-bat in the third and then saw a head-high fastball sail to the backstop in the fifth.

It was after that pitch that Soler decided to confront Lopez, his teammate with the Braves in 2024. The two squared up and began swinging wildly, with neither landing a solid blow as the dugouts emptied. Soler eventually was tackled to the ground by Atlanta manager Walt Weiss, who was a bench coach with the Braves when Soler garnered World Series MVP honors in 2021. Meanwhile, Mike Trout grabbed a hold of Lopez.

"It wasn't over his head, but it was head-high coming in," Suzuki said. "I don't blame Jorge one bit. Words were exchanged and Jorge came out. Any time you get thrown at your head ... you have a family, your career, it's dangerous. I know it's part of the game, it happens, but ask any hitter, ball gets thrown near their head, especially after hitting a homer, it's not good."

"He didn't miss with the other hitters like that, like he missed to me," Soler said through an interpreter. "So I think it was intentional."

Lopez, also via an interpreter, called the incident "a misunderstanding."

"We spend time together as teammates, and so I just think it was a misunderstanding because I would never do anything," Lopez said. "I wasn't trying to hit him, and there was never any intent on my part to hit him at all at any point."

--Field Level Media