The Los Angeles Angels will pin their hopes on Jose Soriano on Sunday afternoon as they aim to avoid a three-game sweep by the host Toronto Blue Jays.
Even though the right-hander did not factor in the decision on April 22 at Anaheim, the Angels went on to defeat the Blue Jays 7-3 in that series finale to avert a three-game sweep.
Soriano allowed no runs and seven hits in five innings in that start. He is 0-0 with a 3.09 ERA in three career games (two starts) against Toronto.
Soriano (5-2, 1.74 ERA) has lost his past two starts, both to the Chicago White Sox.
He surrendered five runs, eight hits and three walks in four innings to Chicago on May 4 in the 6-0 home loss.
“It was just one of those days where you can’t control the strike zone and they put good swings on it, too,” Soriano said after the setback. “It’s a little tough when you face the same team (in consecutive starts) and they already see what you’ve got. But we have to continue to battle. I didn’t have the result, but I battled to the end.”
The Blue Jays have won the first two games of the series, including a 14-1 romp on Saturday. A seven-run fifth inning sealed the deal. The Angels hurt themselves with shoddy fielding.
“It just seemed like everything they touched fell in,” Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said. “Maybe better execution, but at the end of the day, you minimize some hard contact. They do a good job of putting the ball in play and they found holes.”
Infielder Adam Frazier doubled in the Angels’ only run of the series as a pinch hitter in the eighth and pitched the bottom of the inning, yielding four runs.
The Blue Jays are scheduled to open with right-hander Spencer Miles (1-0, 3.50) followed by lefty Eric Lauer (1-4, 6.03). Miles has one career outing against the Angels, tossing 1 1/3 scoreless relief innings on April 21, a 4-2 Toronto road win.
Lauer did not figure in the decision on April 22 against the Angels when he started and allowed three runs in five innings. In three career games (two starts) against the Angels, he is 0-0 with a 3.97 ERA.
Right fielder Addison Barger returned to the Blue Jays’ lineup Saturday. He suffered a sprained ankle April 5 that put him on the injured list.
He made his presence felt by taking two walks and throwing out Jorge Soler at home on a strong throw from right field in the second inning after catching Vaughn Grissom’s line drive.
“I was pretty happy,” Barger said. “Throwing the ball from the outfield is one of my favorite things about the game.”
The throw was timed at 101.2 mph, the hardest throw on an outfield assist in the major leagues this season. It is the hardest throw by a Toronto position player in the Statcast era (since 2015).
“He’s got a great arm,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “People know that it’s one thing to have a good arm. It’s another thing to be accurate with it, too.”
Barger was 0-for-3 and is 1-for-22 (.045) in nine games this season. Toronto optioned outfielder Yohendrick Pinango to Triple-A Buffalo in the corresponding move.
One bright spot for the Angels came in the ninth inning when catcher Omar Martinez singled as a pinch hitter in his first major league at-bat. He was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday when Travis d’Arnaud (foot) was put on the 10-day injured list.
–Field Level Media
