MINNEAPOLIS — A couple months ago it looked like José Soriano would be traveling from Minnesota to Philadelphia, for the All-Star Game.
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Instead, the Angels right-hander is simply heading home for the break, left to ponder how such a sensational start became so ordinary.
Soriano gave up three runs in five innings of a 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday, another in a two-month stretch of nondescript outings.
The Angels (38-59) reached the break a season-worst 21 games under .500. They are tied for the worst record in the majors.
One of the brightest spots at the start of the season was Soriano, but lately he’s looked nothing like the pitcher who ripped through the first month of the season with an 0.24 ERA in his first six starts. There was talk then about the All-Star Game or maybe even a Cy Young Award.
In 14 starts since, he has a 5.15 ERA.
The good start gave his numbers enough cushion that his season ERA sits at a respectable 3.49, which anyone around the Angels would have taken before the season began.
“I know I started way better than that, but I think it was good,” Soriano said. “I didn’t stop fighting. I fought till the end. I don’t have the numbers that I would like, from the first couple outings, but I don’t think I had bad numbers, for this point, so I think it’s good.”
Soriano said he still thinks he can pitch more like he did at the start of the season.
“I think in some point I’m going to get back to what it was,” he said. “Just continue working hard. I think that’s the goal, for me to get back to what I was.”
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Although he’s had a few lousy performances in the last two months, they’ve mostly been like this one. One bad inning burned him on Sunday.
Soriano started strong, with two scoreless innings, and then he gave up three runs when he allowed four straight hits in the third inning. Only one of them was hit hard.
“Kind of one of those things where they just found holes,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “They put the bat on the ball. You’ve got to give them credit too, you know. They had good at-bats. They put the bat on the ball, put it in play and found holes.”
After that, Soriano retired six of seven in his final two innings.
He did not strike out anyone, for the first time this season. With so many balls in play, it was inevitable that a few would find holes.
When the Angels were hitting, they couldn’t find holes at the right times.
Their only runs came on solo homers from Josh Lowe, in the second, and Denzer Guzman, in the seventh.
Otherwise, their best scoring opportunity against Taj Bradley was in the sixth, when Mike Trout and Nolan Schanuel started the inning with consecutive singles. With runners at the corners and no outs, the Angels came up empty. Jorge Soler hit a fly ball to shallow right field, and then Jo Adell hit into a double play.
“That was tough,” Suzuki said. “Bradley’s good. He executed pitches when he needed to. He made pitches and that’s what good pitchers do. He got out of it.”
The Angels brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the ninth, after Wade Meckler walked and Denzer Guzman singled, but Logan O’Hoppe hit a flyout to end it.
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