MILWAUKEE -- The Angels have been hit hard by injuries in recent weeks and it only got worse on Wednesday, when right-hander José Soriano was hit by a line drive from Jake Bauers in his right forearm and was forced to leave in the second inning of their 9-2 loss to the Brewers at American Family Field.
With two on and one out, Soriano delivered a 98 mph sinker at the bottom of the zone and Bauers ripped it back at Soriano with an exit velocity of 107.4 mph. It hit off Soriano for a single to load the bases and left the Angels right-hander grimacing in pain.
Soriano was visited at the mound by interim manager Ray Montgomery and head athletic trainer Mike Frostad. He even smiled at one point as he was being examined, before he left the game on his own accord. He suffered what the Angels are calling a right forearm contusion and was replaced by reliever Connor Brogdon, who allowed all three inherited runners to score. Soriano underwent X-rays after departing, which came back negative, but he’s not sure if he’ll make his next start or be shut down for precautionary reasons.
“I’m good, thank God, it just hit me on the forearm,” Soriano said through interpreter Manny Del Campo. “I was worried, but the X-rays came back negative. Now, I’ll just take it day by day and see how it goes.”
Soriano, 26, has been one of the club’s best players this season, posting a 4.26 ERA in a career-high 31 starts. He has the highest ground-ball rate in the Majors among all starters (65.4%) and came into his start with the sixth-lowest road ERA (2.66) in the big leagues among starters.
Montgomery said he’s proud of the way Soriano has developed this year, but he acknowledged that it’s too soon to say if it was his last start of the season.
“It’s hard to say right now because we have to see how it feels,” Montgomery said. “Obviously, he’s taken it out as far as he's taking it to, he’s set a career high in innings. But I mean, it's never a good spot to end prematurely before the season. But it’s too early to tell on that.”
The Angels' rotation is already thin, as they’re relying on rookies Caden Dana (the club's No. 5 prospect) and Mitch Farris with Tyler Anderson on the injured list and Jack Kochanowicz in Triple-A Salt Lake. Soriano was expected to make two more starts this season, but it’s unclear if he’ll be able to pitch again this year.
Lefty Sam Aldegheri, ranked as the Angels' No. 14 prospect by MLB Pipeline, was scratched from his start for Salt Lake on Wednesday and could be called up to help in long relief or to take Soriano’s spot in the rotation.
Soriano’s injury forced Los Angeles to use three relievers, as Brogdon went 2 2/3 frames, Robert Stephenson threw a scoreless inning and long reliever José Ureña allowed four runs (three earned) over three frames. Brogdon struggled in relief of Soriano, giving up a two-run single to Blake Perkins before serving up a three-run homer to Sal Frelick.
The bullpen has been overworked in recent days, as Dana also lasted just 3 2/3 innings in Tuesday’s 9-2 loss in the series opener.
“It’s tough any time you get a short start, and then something like that happens tonight,” Montgomery said. “Ureña did an unbelievable job picking us up, and Brogdon did the same thing, too, giving us two-plus. It's tough. The guys, they feel it down there. We're already at the end of the year. They've pushed throughout the course of the year. And now you add this on top of this stuff.”
It spoiled a strong showing from left fielder Taylor Ward, who recorded his fifth career multihomer game to reach the 100-RBI plateau for the first time in his eight-year career. Ward hit his 32nd homer of the year on a 3-1 sinker from Brandon Woodruff in the fourth and his 33rd on an 0-1 slider from reliever Nick Mears in the sixth.
Ward is enjoying a breakout season, as he's now tied for sixth in the American League in homers and stands alone at sixth in the league in RBIs.
“It's awesome,” Ward said. “I’m very thankful. It's been an up-and-down year, but to get to this mark through it all, I'm very excited about it, and I'm just very, very grateful for it.”