Soriano shows 'something extra' in final start of 1st half

ANAHEIM -- The Angels took a bit of a risk when they made the surprise decision to convert right-hander José Soriano into a starting pitcher after a breakout rookie season in relief last year.

But that move has worked out well for the Angels this season, as Soriano has been one of the club’s best starters and finished his first half with a strong outing in a 2-1 win over the Mariners on Saturday night at Angel Stadium. Soriano went six innings, allowing just one run on five hits and four walks with five strikeouts to help the Angels to their second straight victory.

The 25-year-old heads into the All-Star break with a 3.71 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 87 1/3 innings. He’s already nearly doubled his inning total in the Majors last year, when he had a 3.64 ERA in 42 innings. But he said he’s feeling strong physically and is looking to keep it going after the All-Star break.

“I think I finished strong and the most important thing is I helped the team win,” Soriano said through interpreter Manny Del Campo. “I was able to go deep in the game to help the team. I was attacking in the zone with my pitches. I had a little bit of turbulence but I got out of it. I was trying not to lose my focus and attacking them and sticking to my gameplan."

Coming into the season, the Angels decided it was worth a shot to stretch him out as a starting pitcher, as he was a starter as a prospect before undergoing Tommy John surgery twice, including after being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft by the Pirates. Soriano, though, has plus-stuff, especially his sinker, which is one of the hardest-thrown pitches in baseball and induces grounders at an elite rate. It helped him escape several jams against the Mariners, including two with the bases loaded.

Soriano's sinker averaged 97.7 and reached as high as 99.4 mph. He also mixed in his knuckle-curve, four-seamer, splitter and slider to get 16 swings and misses from his 87 offerings. It again impressed manager Ron Washington, who believes Soriano is continuing to grow as a starter.

“He had something extra when he had to get it,” Washington said. “It’s an experience for him. The more you have that happen and you get out of it, the more you feel like you’re capable in any situation. When you get in trouble, you try to minimize the damage and he did more than minimize the damage.”

The lone run he allowed came on an RBI single from Julio Rodríguez in the first inning, but he settled down from there. The Angels took the lead in the second on a two-run double from Jo Adell, keyed by a throwing error from right fielder Luke Raley. It proved to be more than enough for Soriano and relievers Luis García, Ben Joyce and Carlos Estévez.

The Angels, though, will continue to monitor Soriano the rest of the way, given his change in usage and jump in innings. He threw 65 1/3 innings between Triple-A Salt Lake and the Majors last year, so he’s already above his total. But he has a 6-foot-3, 220-pound frame that the Angels believe is equipped to handle the stress of being a starter.

“I think every opportunity we get to push him back, we’re going to do it,” Washington said. “Next time if he goes out there and we blow the ballgame open, we can cut him short. Or if it looks like he’s running out of gas, we can cut him short. Our eyes are on him. We have a plan. We just have to see how we're going to implement it. And he's the one that's going to determine how we implement it.”

Soriano also missed 15 days with an abdominal infection in late June, which gave him a bit of a breather. He allowed seven runs over nine innings in his first two starts coming off the IL but looked much better against the Mariners.

“I thought early in the year he was getting gassed and then as we got to the middle part of the first half, he looked like he was getting strong, but then got sick,” Washington said. “But over his last few outings, he'd been building toward tonight. He got over the hump. The next time he takes the ball, we’re hoping he can give us seven.”