Hard-throwing right-hander Jose Soriano is doing his best not to be known as a strikeout pitcher.
Soriano has 77 strikeouts in 95 innings, and getting outs early in counts and reducing his number of pitches is a higher priority.
Soriano will look to help the Angels avert a sweep by the Oakland Athletics on Sunday when the American League West rivals conclude their four-game series in Anaheim, Calif.
Soriano’s approach has allowed him to pitch into the eighth inning three times this season, most on the club (Tyler Anderson has done it twice). And while Soriano’s four-seam fastball averages 99 mph, his most important pitch is a power sinker that averages just a tick lower at 98 mph.
That sinker gets ground balls, and it was evident in his most recent start when he went 7 2/3 innings and made 100 pitches in a 5-1 victory over Seattle on Tuesday. Of the 23 outs he recorded, 10 came on ground balls.
“It’s his bread and butter,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “He has other pitches to equalize things, like his splitter and curveball, but the sinker is his pitch.”
The Angels envision Soriano, 25, as a potential top-of-the-rotation starter, as long as he can remain healthy. He’s had two Tommy John surgeries in his career and he missed two weeks this season because of an abdominal infection.
“I feel great,” Soriano said. “I’m making progress every outing. We’re getting to my goals.”
Soriano’s 95 innings so far are, a career high, including in the minor leagues. His previous high was 82 1/3 innings in 2019 while splitting time between rookie ball and Class-A.
He has struggled against Oakland in his career, going 0-2 with a 15.19 ERA in three games (one start).
Right-hander Osvaldo Bido (2-1, 3.09 ERA) will make his third start (ninth appearance) of the season for Oakland. He is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in three relief appearances against Los Angeles, throwing five scoreless innings.
With Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Angels, Oakland is 14-7 in July. It is the A’s first month above .500 since July 2022.
“The team is playing really well,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “The confidence in that room is starting to build. They’re starting to believe in how talented they are and that they can win, and that’s important. That’s a key aspect to the development process. It’s great to see, and they’re getting some results and being rewarded for it.”
The A’s will be without All-Star closer Mason Miller for an undetermined amount of time because of a fractured pinky finger in his left (non-pitching) hand. Miller slammed his fist into a padded training table after a 4-0 win last Monday over Houston in which Miller retired the side in order on 11 pitches. Kotsay said Miller was frustrated after being reminded he had a postgame lift session to get in.
Likewise, the Angels are without their closer, having traded Carlos Estevez to the Philadelphia Phillies for two pitching prospects on Saturday.
–Field Level Media
