The Los Angeles Angels won their first series in Cincinnati since 2007 as Jose Soriano led the way in this one.
The Los Angeles Angels rode another brilliant start from Jose Soriano and some impressive early hitting to outlast the Cincinnati Reds, 9-6, and clinch their three-game road set against the Reds.
The series win against the Reds was the first win in Cincinnati since 2007,, and it was mostly about Soriano as the Angels backed him up by pounding out runs early. Nolan Schanuel started the scoring with an RBI single in the first that scored both Mike Trout and Jo Adell, and Logan O’Hoppe made it 3-0 with another RBI single. That made it 3-0, but the Angels were just getting started.
Trout continued to emerge from his slump in a big way in the fourth, as he plated Neto with an RBI double in the second. Jorge Soler sacrificed into a double play, but his pair of outs still brought home Trout as Jo Adell was thrown out at third.
The Angels featured a tweaked lineup in this one, as they moved Oswald Pereza over to third and went with newly-promoted Vaughn Grissom at second again. The move paid off when Peraza hit a home run in the fourth to go with Grissom’s earlier hit, making the Halos lineup that much more formidable. Adell got an RBI on a fielder’s choice on a groundout to bring home Bryce Teodosio and make it 7-0.
Peraza drove in yet another run with a groundout in the seventh inning as the Angels scored a run, and they got another one in the 8th on a bases loaded walk to Schanuel that scored Trout. The Angels walked a total of 26 times in this series, which ties a franchise record for a series that dates back to 1979.
Soriano did an impeccable job of protecting the big lead as he continues to post historical numbers. He struck out ten for the second time in his last two starts, which doubled the number of times he’s done that in his career. He also lowered his ERA, remarkably, to a microscopic 0.33.
The relievers were truly awful when Soriano left the game, though, and they nearly gave the Reds a chance to come back and get the tying run to the plate. Sam Bachman had a horrible inning as he gave up two runs on a Sal Stewart single and a pair of wild pitches, and Nick Sandlin was nearly as bad, loading the bases in the ninth and forcing Suzuki to turn to lefty Drew Pomeranz to finish up.
Pomeranz was only marginally better, but he did get a lined-drive double play off Matt McLain on a superb play by Peraza at third. He then allowed a three-run homer to Elly De La Cruz to make it 9-6 before striking out Stewart to finally end the game.
The Angels now head to the Bronx to play a three-game series against the New York Yankees, with Yusei Kikuchi getting the start against Will Warren for the Yanks.