The Los Angeles Angels were expecting Jose Soriano to be better, but the starter is setting historical records.
Jose Soriano is setting pitching records left and right for the Los Angeles Angels, and some of them are getting downright historical. He allowed seven hits in five innings yesterday against the Toronto Blue Jays, but Soriano still managed to shut down Toronto’s pesky offense.
He lowered his ERA to 0.24 with a WHIP of 0.82 across his first six starts, but those aren’t the historical numbers. Soriano became the first pitcher in MLB history to allow just one run through his first six starts, excluding openers, and that ERA is the lowest number through six outings since scoring became official in both leagues back in 1913.
“It's special,” manager Kurt Suzuki said in a piece written by Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. “Just watching him go to work every single day, not just the days he starts, but the days that he gets his work in. The guy is a physical specimen, so it's awesome to watch. It's tremendous.”
Soriano entered the season with promising numbers, but no one saw this kind of leap coming. He entered this season with a career ERA of 3.89 to go with a WHIP of 1.32, so the next step seemed to be eliminating some of the bad outings that have plague Soriano occasionally.
Instead he’s allowed just one run this season, and yesterday was just the second time he’s allowed more than two hits. Soriano was able to eliminate any walks by the Blue Jays, though, and that was what allowed him to keep his shutout streak intact on a day when he didn’t have his best stuff.
“You’re gonna have a day like that,” Soriano said. “It doesn't have to be the Blue Jays, sometimes it’s different things. But the only thing I can do is keep grinding out there.”
According to Bollinger, the key to all this is Soriano’s ability to eliminate hard contact. It’s an amorphous stat, but Soriano’s number has gone from 48.2 percent last year to just 30.9 percent so far this season, the writer added. His average exit velocity is down to just 87 mph, so hitters aren’t doing much with what he’s dealing.
“They're a good team over there that puts the ball in play so they were getting their hits that way,” Suzuki said. “But for the most part, he was limiting hard contact so it was a good day.”
His sinker is hitting the mid- to upper-90s with movement, and his four-seamer is also hitting 98 to go with his splitter, knuckle curve and slider.
“He's got serious stuff,” said Nolan Schanuel, who had four RBIs yesterday, including a go-ahead three-run double in the eighth inning. “I feel bad for hitters who have to go face him three or four times in a game. I saw it while standing in there during Spring Training. He's got [Whiffle] ball stuff. I've never seen a baseball move that much.”