Although second baseman Luis Rengifo, who has been having trouble with his fielding lately, made a crucial error with two outs in the sixth inning, it was still the best start of right-hander José Soriano’s young career.
In six innings, Soriano struck out a career-high seven batters, but in a 3-0 defeat to the Reds on Sunday afternoon at Great American Ball Park, he gave up three unearned runs. The Angels, who were swept in three games and have now lost four straight, with one run or fewer scored in three of those defeats, had an offense that was likewise almost nonexistent.
Angels manager Ron Washingtоn stated, “You saw what Soriano was doing out there, but then you don’t handle the baseball and the next thing you know they have three runs.” “We erred in judgment. A third was out there. They scored three runs after they didn’t handle the ball. Without a doubt, we must handle the baseball. Additionally, we must score some runs. We must begin providing our pitchers with some оffensive support.
After pitching in relief last year and in long relief early this season, Soriano was making his third career start. He was impressive, starting the game with 5 1/3 innings without allowing a Һit.
Throughout five innings, he tossed 71 pitches, getting ahead of hitters and striking out 20 of the 25 batters he faced with a first pitch strike. Even while his speed had decreased slightly, his exceptional abilities were still visible. He threw his knuckle curve 36 times, but his four-seamer only averaged 98.2 mph, down from his annual average of 99.4. It still reached 100.2 mph. His curve showed eight called strikes and seven swings and misses, indicating its effectiveness.
Soriano remarked, speaking through interpreter Manny Del Campo, “I felt great.” “Almost all of the pitches were working, but the curveball in particular.”
For the first time in his starting career, Soriano pitched into the sixth inning. He got the first out of the inning by striking out Will Benson with a curveball. However, Soriano gave up his first Һit on a first pitch fastball, an infield single to the swift Elly De La Cruz.
When Nick Martini grounded out to Rengifo at second base, Soriano appeared to be done for the inning. He rebounded to get Spencer Steer to line out to right field for the second out. Rengifo made his second mistake in as many days when he couldn’t control the situation and the ball ended up in right field. Prior to lefty Patrick Sandoval giving up a grand slam in the opening inning of Saturday’s 7-5 loss, Rengifo also committed a throwing error.
Rengifo remarked, “I have to be better and make the play next time. Everyone makes mistakes; it’s part of the game.” “I still have to play with a positive attitude every time. My only option is to carry out my duties and improve.
Although Washingtоn recognized that Rengifo has recently had a difficult defensive performance, he said that the Angels are always trying to find ways to support him.
“We work outside every day, but he’s having trouble,” Washingtоn remarked. You run into those kinds of scenarios from time to time. Sometimes you have rhythmic difficulties on the defensive end, just as you have on the оffensive end.
Next, on a 0-2 curveball that caught too much of the zone, Soriano allowed Christian Encarnacion-Strand to score two runs on a double. Encarnacion-Strand scored as Soriano left the pitch up in an attempt to bury it for a strikeout.
Soriano remarked, “I was trying to throw it a little bit lower, but things happen.” “I tried to throw it lower after missing, and that’s what happened. It’s baseball.
After falling behind Jeimer Candelario on a 2-1 count, Soriano let up an RBI triple on a splitter that was Һit at 93.4 mph in the middle of the zone four pitches later. Mike Trout attempted a running catch near the wall, but he was unable to complete the play and collided forcefully with it. But Trout was fine and continued to play.
Though Soriano was able to escape more difficulty by stranding Candelario at third base with a strikeout of Tyler Stephenson, the damage had already been done. Right-hander Frankie Montas exited his start after recording just two outs after being Һit in the right elbow by a comebacker from Taylor Ward, but the Angels were unable to generate much оffensive momentum.
Regarding Cincinnati’s bullpen game, Washingtоn stated, “It shouldn’t present a challenge.” “We definitely need to improve our оffensive play. Although we are winning ballgames because of our pitching, everyone wants to speak about it. Simply said, we haven’t been scoring enough runs to make a difference.