Nolan McLean Faces Reid Detmers in Angels Game at Angel Stadium
The angels game at Angel Stadium on Saturday, May 2, 2026, put Nolan McLean opposite Reid Detmers in a matchup that opened with both starters carrying identical 1-2 records. The Mets came in after a comeback win the night before and were trying to take the series while staying unbeaten in May.
McLean’s first Angels test
McLean entered with a 2.55 ERA over six starts and 35 1/3 innings, along with a 2.26 FIP, a 0.849 WHIP and a 160 ERA+. He had struck out 45 batters at an 11.5 K/9 clip, and his underlying numbers included a 2.29 xERA, 85.2 mph average exit velocity and a.188 xBA.
This was his first start against the Angels, and no Los Angeles hitter had faced him in a major league game before Saturday. That gave the matchup a clean look: a young Mets starter with run-prevention numbers built over six appearances, now seeing a lineup for the first time in league play.
Detmers carries mixed form
Detmers came in with 33 2/3 innings over six starts, a 4.28 ERA, a 3.23 FIP, a 1.099 WHIP and a 101 ERA+. He had also held the Yankees to one run over seven innings three starts earlier, but in the 11 innings before May 2 he allowed seven runs on 10 hits and three walks.
His expected numbers were stronger than the results in that short stretch, with a 2.95 xERA and a 34.1 percent chase rate. He had seen the Mets once in relief last year, when he allowed one run and one hit in one inning, so this was another unfamiliar test for both sides at a key point in the series.
Mets keep pressure on Angels
The night before, the Angels struck first and held the lead through the fifth inning before New York answered with three runs in the sixth to tie it 3-3. Ronny Mauricio then hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh, and Devin Williams shut down Los Angeles in the ninth.
That comeback left the Mets with a chance to finish the series job while leaning on McLean’s early-season run prevention. For the Angels, Detmers had to steady a rotation spot against a lineup that had just erased an early deficit and turned the game in the late innings.
