The Los Angeles Angels winning formula is a Soriano start and plenty of home runs, and they used it against the Padres.
The Los Angeles Angels returned to Anaheim for the second homestead of the young season, and they rode yet another shutout start by Jose Soriano to defeat the San Diego Padres, 8-0, as Yoan Moncada and Josh Lowe both hit home runs to power the offense.
We’re just a few weeks into this season, but it’s become clear that Soriano is helping to transform the Angels into a very different team. His ERA actually dropped from 0.33 to 0.28 last night as he pitched 5-2/3 innings of shutout ball while giving up just two hits and striking out eight Padres hitters.
The Angels didn’t need much offense last night, but Yoan Moncada started the Halos’ ongoing home-run party with a solo blast in the second to make it 1-0. Adam Frazier followed with an RBI triple after Logan O’Hoppe was hit by a pitch, and Zach Neto drove home Frazier with a single to make it 3-0.
The pitching victim was San Diego starter Matt Waldron, who was subbed in for the injured Nick Pivetta, and Waldron’s first start off a rehab assignment didn’t go well. The Angels got three more runs in the fourth inning on a single by Nolan Schanuel to make it 4-0, and Jo Adell added a two-run RBI double to up the count to 6-0. The Halos piled on in the fifth on another homer by Josh Lowe, who hit a two-run bomb after Oswald Peraza got hit by a pitch to make it 8-0.
The rest of the game was mostly about Soriano and window dressing. As ridiculous as it sounds, Soriano wasn’t as sharp as usual, as he got behind in counts as the game went on, and he ended up with four walks. Chase Silseth picked up Soriano by getting the last out of the sixth, and Shaun Anderson and Jordan Romano finished off the shutout.
Padres hitters were mostly helpless in this one. The lone hits came on singles by Manny Machado and Ty France, with Gavin Sheets getting a double that was San Diego’s only extra base hit. The Padres struck out a total of 13 times, with Nick Castellanos leading the way with four K’s.
The game began with a video tribute and a moment of silence for former Angels outfielder Garret Anderson, who passed at the age of 53 after suffering a heart attack earlier in the day. It was an emotional game for the team, and the Angels will wear memorial patches on their uniforms to commemorate Anderson's achievements on and off the field for the rest of the season.
The series continues tonight with Yusei Kikuchi going for the Angels against German Marquez for the Padres.