José Soriano returns to form as Angels beat Blue Jays
TORONTO - That was the José Soriano the Angels got used to seeing in the first month of the season.
After Soriano had a pair of disappointing games, his performance in the Angels' 6-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon was reminiscent of what earned him the American League Pitcher of the Month award for April.
Soriano gave up a run on two hits in the first inning, and then he retired 20 in a row, lasting 7⅔ innings without giving up another run.
Through the end of April, Soriano was 5-1 with an 0.84 ERA, becoming the first Angels pitcher since 2014 to win the league's top monthly pitching award.
His last April start, however, was the one game he lost. He had a stiff neck before an April 28 loss to the Chicago White Sox. In his subsequent start, also against the White Sox, he said his neck was not an issue, but he nonetheless gave up five runs in four innings and lost again.
If those two games created any concern that Soriano was coming back to earth, he allayed them on Sunday.
"I thought he was great," Manager Kurt Suzuki said. "The first inning, kind of settling in, and shoot once he settled in, man, I feel like his stuff got better as the game went on. It was tough to hit."
The only run he allowed was in the first inning, and it wasn't entirely his fault.
Shortstop Zach Neto was too slow making the throw to first on what should have been a routine out, and speedy Daulton Varsho ended up with an infield hit. So instead of a 1-2-3 inning, Soriano gave up a two-out, run-scoring double to Kazuma Okamoto. He needed 14 extra pitches to get out of the inning.
Soriano didn't give up anything else until the eighth.
"It feels great," he said. "I had a little trouble in the first inning but after that I just turned the page and kept attacking the strike zone. Don't think what happened in the past. Just focus on this game and I know I have the other guys. They have my back, so I just try to focus and pound the zone."
In the eighth, Soriano needed some help from reliever Sam Bachman after he loaded the bases on three singles, including two infield singles. Bachman entered to face Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and he got him on a groundout.
"It feels incredible," Soriano said. "Bases loaded, two outs and he got the toughest hitter. It's incredible."
Right-hander Ryan Zeferjahn then pitched the ninth to seal the victory.
The Angels (16-25) finally got a lead for Soriano when the Blue Jays finally put a lefty on the mound in the fifth.
The Blue Jays started the game with a right-handed opener, Spencer Miles. The assumption was that left-hander Eric Lauer would still pitch the bulk of the game, so the Angels started their right-handed-heavy lineup anyway.
For the first four innings – three against Miles and one against right-hander Tommy Nance – the Angels did not score. They had only two hits.
In the fifth, though, the Blue Jays brought in Lauer, and it was as if a switch was flipped in the Angels' dugout.
Nolan Schanuel, the only lefty in the Angels' lineup, led off the inning with a walk. Oswald Peraza, who had grounded back to the pitcher with a chance to drive in the game's first run in the second inning, then made amends with a two-run homer. It put the Angels up, 2-1.
"That was probably the biggest hit of the game, for him to come up right there and hit a big homer for us," Suzuki said. "Definitely changed the momentum and got the guys kick-started. After that, it was some good swings."
Two outs after his fifth-inning homer, the Angels were back at the top of the order. Neto doubled and Mike Trout walked. Both scored on Vaughn Grissom's double, his second hit of the game.
Jo Adell provided some insurance with solo homers in the sixth and ninth innings, giving him six for the season.
"It's kind of been in battle mode for a good portion of kind of like a month, getting hits and being productive, but just not in the way that I know that I can, hitting for a bit more power," Adell said. "Just figured some things out in the cage. Just kind of getting that feel back kind of to where I was last year with putting off the A-swing that I know I can. It felt really, really good."
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This story was originally published May 10, 2026 at 1:47 PM.