CHICAGO -- José Soriano showed why so many people believe he¡¯s due for a breakout season in 2025, as he hurled seven dominant innings against the White Sox in his first start of the year.
Soriano scattered just two hits and two walks with five strikeouts over seven scoreless frames to lead the Angels to a 1-0 win at Rate Field for their first victory of the year after losing on Opening Day. He was incredibly efficient, throwing just 73 pitches before the Angels went to their bullpen combination of flamethrower Ben Joyce and closer Kenley Jansen.
¡°He was outstanding,¡± manager Ron Washington said. ¡°Exactly what we expect from him. I know you can't just mow people down like that every time, but he does a good job of keeping us in the game, and today, he did more than keep us in the game. He got us to the back of the pitching order that we want to use and gave us seven quality innings.¡±
Soriano leaned heavily on his sinker and knuckle-curve, throwing 44 sinkers and 21 curves compared to just three four-seamers, three sliders and two splitters. His sinker averaged 96.6 mph, which was slightly down from last year's 97.7 mph, but he located it well and induced 10 groundouts and no flyouts to the outfield.
¡°He had that sinker and his breaking ball and stayed ahead in the count,¡± Washington said. ¡°And when he did get behind in the count, he was able to make pitches, and that's what it takes. And he did it. He was just outstanding today.¡±
Soriano said he mostly stuck to his sinker/curveball combination because it was working so well, so there was no real reason to mix things up. But he is expected to incorporate his four-seamer more this year to give hitters a different look, especially with fastballs up in the zone to counter his sinker and splitter.
¡°The plan was to attack the zone,¡± Soriano said. ¡°And I had my best pitches today, and I kept throwing them.¡±
His success didn¡¯t surprise White Sox catcher Matt Thaiss, who caught Soriano with the Angels in 2023 and ¡®24. Thaiss caught Soriano 20 times while with the Angels and Soriano had a 3.63 ERA in 44 2/3 innings during those appearances. Thaiss frequently referred to Soriano as a future ace during his time with the club.
¡°He was doing what he does,¡± Thaiss said. ¡°He fills up the zone. He has a really good high-velocity sinker and a curveball. He kept us off balance all day.¡±
White Sox manager Will Venable had similar praise for Soriano and noted how his velocity can overpower hitters.
"Soriano shoved,¡± Venable said. ¡°The guy pounds the zone. It's multiple fastballs at 100 mph. Tough assignment for anybody. Kind of had us on their heels all day and we just weren't able to kind of string good things together."
Soriano, 26, is coming off a strong first year as a starter, as he posted a 3.42 ERA with 97 strikeouts in 113 innings last season. With that experience and workload under his belt, Soriano looks primed for a big year and displayed his talent against Chicago. He never allowed a batter to reach second base and was aided by two double plays.
Soriano, though, didn¡¯t get much help from the offense, as the Angels didn¡¯t score until the eighth inning. Jorge Soler drew a two-out walk and reached third base on a wild pitch to set up the rally. Yoán Moncada was booed heavily by White Sox fans while at the plate because of the way his tenure with the club ended, but he came through in a big way with an RBI infield single to give the Angels the lead.
It also helped Soriano pick up the win, which Moncada believed was well deserved. Moncada had the satisfaction of coming through against his old team in a key moment and helping his teammate get his first victory of the year.
¡°He was tremendous,¡± Moncada said. ¡°He pitched a great game and helped us get the win. And he just did a great job.¡±