As Deadline nears, Soriano, Soler and Adell spark Angels' win

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Angels avoided a three-game sweep Sunday, and did so with the help of a trio of potential trade candidates.

Right-hander José Soriano allowed one unearned over five innings while Jorge Soler and Jo Adell both homered to lift the Angels to a 4-3 win over the Giants in the series finale at Oracle Park. All three players have seen their names surface among trade rumors ahead of the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline.

Soriano, along with lefty Reid Detmers, has been mentioned as a prominent trade candidate because of his strong season and the fact he’s under team control for two more years after ’26. He got off to an incredible start to the season before cooling off, but has been pitching better in July with a 2.74 ERA over his past four starts.

“I feel like I’ve been throwing better with my fastball,” Soriano said. “I’ve been working hard and having the result I want because of that.”

He pitched with traffic most of the afternoon, as his only clean inning came in the fourth, but he wasn’t helped by the defense in the fifth. Willy Adames hit a pop fly to shallow left to open the inning but shortstop Zach Neto lost it in the sun for what was ruled a leadoff double.

He then walked Drew Cavanaugh to put another runner on, but struck out Grant McCray and got Luis Arraez to hit into a potential double play but second baseman Vaughn Grissom’s throw to first got past Nolan Schanuel to allow a run to score. Soriano then got Heliot Ramos to ground out to end the inning and keep it an unearned run.

That was it for Soriano after 85 pitches, as he gave up three hits and walked three with five strikeouts. The walks continue to be his biggest issue, as he’s issued an AL-leading 56 free passes in 123 innings this season. But he also has a solid 3.29 ERA in 22 starts and 127 strikeouts, which are tied for the 11th in the AL.

“Things looked a little crisper today, even more than last time,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “Breaking balls were good, couple good splits. Splits were pretty firm and crisp, so they almost looked like sinkers. I thought he was really good today.”

Soriano, though, pitched with the lead his entire outing after the Angels scored a run in the first when Mike Trout doubled, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI groundout from Soler. It was the first of four hits for Trout, who hadn’t accomplished the feat since April 26, 2021.

Soler, who is set to be a free agent after the season, helped spark a three-run fourth with a solo shot off lefty Carson Whisenhunt to open the frame. It was his 13th of the year but his first since June 24. He’s been batting cleanup to try to get him going and boost his trade value, as he’s mostly scuffled at the plate this year but the Angels would love to be able to move him to a contender at the deadline.

• Who stays, who goes? Angels face key Deadline decisions

Soler, who has been traded four times in his career, including at the deadline in both '21 and '24, said he’s just focused on trying to get things going offensively. After answering a question in Spanish, he smiled and said in English that it had been a “long time” since he last went deep.

"I've been traded many times, so I'm not worried about that,” Soler said through interpreter Manny Del Campo. “What I need to do is get better, hit better and help the team win."

Adell tacked on two more runs with a blast of his own off Whisenhunt -- a Statcast-projected 446-foot homer, his second-longest of the season behind his 449-foot shot in Toronto on May 10.

It was also his 16th homer of the year and his third over his past six games. Like Soler, Adell hasn’t hit for his usual power this year. But unlike Soler, Adell isn’t a free agent until after next year, so the Angels aren’t necessarily desperate to trade him.

But they’d like to see him improve his power numbers, as he has a .403 slugging percentage after slugging .485 last season with 37 homers.

“That was nice,” Suzuki said of Adell’s homer. “I was watching him hit today in the cage before the game, and he was putting some nice swings out there. He's been working and he did the same thing in the game.”