Soriano battles command as Angels drop 4th straight to White Sox

ANAHEIM -- Through his first six starts of the season, José Soriano was essentially unhittable, as the right-hander allowed just one run through his first 37 2/3 innings for a miniscule 0.24 ERA that made history.

But after dealing with neck stiffness and allowing three runs over five innings against the White Sox on Tuesday, he struggled for a second straight outing against Chicago, surrendering a season-high five runs on eight hits and three walks over a season-low four innings in a 6-0 loss on Monday at Angel Stadium. Soriano came into the game with a 0.84 ERA but saw it rise to a 1.74 ERA in seven outings this year, as the Angels dropped their 13th game over their last 15 contests.

“Sometimes you have tough nights like today and there’s nothing you can do about it,” Soriano said. “You just have to keep your head up and keep working and focus on the next one.”

Soriano’s velocity was in line with his season average, but he had trouble locating and it was evident early after he walked the first two batters he faced. He bounced back to strike out Miguel Vargas and Colson Montgomery, but gave up back-to-back RBI singles to Chase Meidroth and Andrew Benintendi with two strikes.

“Obviously they put some good swings on him,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “The velo was up, stuff was good. It's hard to tell from the side, but maybe pitch execution. That's the only thing that I can see. But he's been so good for us this year and the last start against them last time he had a stiff neck. And tonight, I feel like they just put good at-bats together. Sometimes you’ve got to tip your hat.”

It foreshadowed a rough fourth and final frame for Soriano, who gave up a two-run homer to Munetaka Murakami and a solo homer to Vargas. Murakami's homer came on a 2-2 four-seamer while Vargas' came on a 1-1 four-seamer. It marked the second straight start that Soriano gave up two homers to the White Sox, as Montgomery and Drew Romo both went deep against him in Chicago.

Soriano needed 88 pitches to record 12 outs and threw just 52 strikes and five strikeouts. He also fell behind hitters, throwing first-pitch strikes to 13 of the 23 batters he faced. Soriano said his neck felt fine during his start but he just had trouble with his command.

“It was one of those days where I couldn’t control the strike zone,” Soriano said. “They put in good swings too. They are a very good team now and they are putting very good swings together and you see the result. It's a little bit tough to face the same team after they already saw what you got, but you have to continue to battle and that's what I did.”

One notable change for Soriano has been his batterymate over his last two starts, as he previously threw to Logan O’Hoppe for his first six outings before O’Hoppe landed on the 10-day injured list with a small fracture in his left wrist on April 26. He threw to Sebastian Rivero for the first time this season on Tuesday before working with veteran Travis d’Arnaud on Monday.

But Soriano downplayed that change as a reason for his recent struggles, as he said he’s worked with both Rivero and d’Arnaud over the last two years, both during Spring Training and the regular season.

“I have a very good relationship with all the catchers,” Soriano said. “It’s just two tough outings, and I have to continue to focus and work on what I’ve been doing and forget about what happened today.”

Lefty Mitch Farris pitched well in long relief, allowing one run over four innings, to keep the Angels in the game after Soriano departed. But the offense was cold yet again, as the Angels were shut out for the first time this season in 36 games and were held to two runs or fewer for the ninth time over their last 15 games. It was also their fourth straight defeat to the White Sox after being swept in three games in Chicago last week.

“We’ve just got to trust our work,” Suzuki said. “There's no mystery. We're struggling. I mean, there's no other way around it. Sometimes you just got to face it and believe in what you're doing and that it’s the right thing and just keep going every single day.”