José Soriano delivered seven scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts as the Los Angeles Angels secured a 9-6 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in their series finale at Great American Ball Park. The win marked the Angels' first three-game series triumph against Cincinnati since 2016. Soriano improved to 4-0 this season with an ERA of 0.33.
Cincinnati -- Angels manager Kurt Suzuki turned to ace José Soriano for the rubber game after a loss the previous day. Soriano allowed just two hits, struck out 10 and walked three over seven innings on 106 pitches. He held the Reds hitless until Matt McLain's single in the fourth and P.J. Higgins' hit in the fifth, lowering his season ERA to 0.33 across 27 innings in four starts, with 31 strikeouts and one run allowed. Soriano became the first Angels pitcher to win his first four starts since Jered Weaver in 2011, and the first since at least 1900 to pitch 25-plus innings in his initial four outings while allowing fewer than 10 hits and two runs. In the seventh, with the Angels leading 8-0, Soriano walked Nathaniel Lowe but struck out Spencer Steer and induced a groundout from Noelvi Marte to finish his outing. Suzuki praised Soriano's composure: “As good as he's been... he looked like he was in control the whole time.” Soriano credited attacking the strike zone: “I think the key for today was I was pounding the zone, attacking the strike zone early.” Reds manager Terry Francona noted Soriano's arsenal: “He’s got a 90’s two-seam movement, breaking ball, changeup or split.” Offensively, Mike Trout, Jo Adell, Logan O’Hoppe and Nolan Schanuel each recorded two hits. The Angels erupted for three runs in the first, two in the second and two more in the fourth against Reds starter Andrew Abbott, who lasted three innings and allowed seven runs. Trout doubled, scored twice and walked, while escaping injury from a foul ball off his elbow. O’Hoppe took a foul tip to the groin but stayed in the game.
