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 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.
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.
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.