Soriano’s dominant start
Angels starter José Soriano has thrown 27 innings this season while allowing just one earned run and became the first Angels starter to win his first four starts of a season since Jered Weaver in 2011. (x.com) He struck out 10 in his latest outing and helped seal a series win for Los Angeles. (x.com)
José Soriano has opened 2026 as the Los Angeles Angels’ stopper, carrying a 4-0 record and a 0.33 earned run average through four starts. (espn.com) Through 27 innings, Soriano has allowed nine hits, one earned run and nine walks while striking out 31 batters. His latest start came Sunday, April 12, when he struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings in a 9-6 win over Cincinnati. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2) That outing made Soriano the first pitcher in Major League Baseball to reach four wins this season. It also gave the Angels their first series victory in Cincinnati since 2007. (nbclosangeles.com) (sports.yahoo.com) For the Angels, the start stands out because no starter from the club had won his first four outings of a season since Jered Weaver in 2011. Weaver went on to finish that year 18-8 with a 2.41 earned run average over 33 starts. (nbclosangeles.com) (mlb.com) Soriano’s run has not been built on one fluky afternoon. In his previous start on April 6 against Atlanta, he worked eight innings, allowed one run, struck out 10 and did not issue a walk in a 6-2 Angels win. (mlb.com) That gives him consecutive starts with 10 strikeouts, and he has completed at least six innings in each of his four outings. ESPN’s game log shows his four starts against Houston, Chicago, Atlanta and Cincinnati lasted 6, 6, 8 and 7 innings. (espn.com) Soriano is not a new name in Anaheim, but this is a jump from his 2025 profile. Major League Baseball’s player page says he led the majors with a 65.3 percent ground-ball rate last season, while setting career highs with 169 innings and 152 strikeouts. (mlb.com) He is still getting ground balls in 2026, but the early difference is how little hard damage opponents have done. Across 97 batters faced, only one run has scored as earned, and only one home run has left the yard. (espn.com) For now, the Angels have a starter taking the ball every five days and giving them length, strikeouts and wins. Four starts into the season, Soriano has given up one earned run total and put his name next to a franchise benchmark that had stood since Weaver’s 2011 opening run. (espn.com) (nbclosangeles.com)
