ANAHEIM, Calif. — Los Angeles Angels pitcher José Soriano is putting together one of the most remarkable starts to a baseball season in decades, establishing himself among the sport’s all-time greats with his early-season dominance.
The Dominican right-hander continued his spectacular run Friday night, limiting San Diego to just two hits through nearly six innings as the Angels cruised to an 8-0 victory, snapping the Padres’ eight-game winning streak.
Through five starts this season, Soriano remains undefeated at 5-0 with a microscopic 0.28 earned run average, surrendering only one run across 32 2/3 innings of work. His 39 strikeouts lead all major league pitchers, while opponents have managed just 11 hits against him. He shares the major league lead in victories with Milwaukee’s Aaron Ashby.
Apart from some command issues, Soriano has completely stifled opposing hitters. The lone run scored against him this season came via Drake Baldwin’s first-inning home run for Atlanta on April 6. His current scoreless streak spans 17 innings, ranking second-best in baseball this year, while opponents are hitting just .104 against his 0.73 WHIP — both statistics leading the majors.
“It’s like a hot knife through butter,” Angels slugger Jo Adell said. “It’s pretty crazy. It’s really special, and he’s a special talent. He’s always had the stuff to compete at this level, and he’s doing what an ace does. Whatever he’s done, just keep doing it.”
Soriano’s remarkable stretch has placed him in exclusive historical territory. The last pitcher to surrender one earned run or fewer in his first five seasonal starts while throwing at least 15 total innings was Los Angeles Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela in 1981, during his Cy Young Award-winning rookie campaign. Hall of Famer Walter Johnson accomplished the feat in 1913, and no other pitcher in baseball history has matched it.
Even more impressively, Soriano stands alone as the only major league pitcher ever to complete at least five innings while allowing one or fewer earned runs and three or fewer hits in each of his first five starts of a season.
“I just feel confident to keep pitching like that,” Soriano said. “I believe in my catcher, and we’re on the same page. I think that’s a big part of the results we’re having.”
Despite earning American League Player of the Week honors for consecutive 10-strikeout performances totaling 15 innings in his previous two outings, Soriano faced more resistance from San Diego’s experienced lineup.
The Padres worked four walks and pushed Soriano to 99 pitches during the contest. San Diego loaded the bases in the third inning before Soriano induced a ground out from Jackson Merrill to escape trouble, but the visitors finally chased him from the game with a single and walk in the sixth inning with two outs.
“The thing that impressed was that to us, he had to grind a little bit tonight,” Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said. “I think that’s the maturity showing up, where he’s learning how to pitch — and I say this lightly — without his best stuff. He learned how to navigate a great lineup over there without his best stuff … and it was pretty incredible. You can’t say enough.”
Soriano’s arsenal features a 99-mph fastball and an elite sinker, but he’s also incorporating a curveball that has completely baffled opposing hitters. This three-pitch combination has proven unstoppable through his first five starts.
“Knowing him from the past, you always thought of the high-90s sinker, and then he comes in breaking out the curveball,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “That pitch was very impressive from the dugout. Gave our guys trouble at the beginning. It’s really hard to lay off that pitch, and it complements his sinker. He did a great job tonight mixing his pitches. … He’s just a really good pitcher.”
