ANAHEIM -- It was quite an improvement on his last start.
Right-hander José Soriano was hit hard against the Red Sox on Wednesday, allowing seven runs on eight hits over just 3 2/3 innings, but he bounced back in a big way against the Athletics on Tuesday. Soriano struck out a career-high 12 batters over seven masterful innings, while Nolan Schanuel delivered a walk-off RBI single with two outs in the 10th inning to lift the Angels to a 2-1 win at Angel Stadium.
It was the first walk-off of Schanuel’s career, and it wouldn’t have been possible without Soriano’s strong showing. He allowed one run on just two hits and two walks, carrying a no-hitter until Brent Rooker’s two-out double in the sixth.
“Today was about Soriano,” manager Ron Washington said. “That was about as good as it gets. I wish we could get that every night, but you can't. But that was about as good as it gets, right there. He had everything working. That sinker was ridiculous.”
Schanuel was excited not to waste Soriano’s impressive effort and was still coming down from the high of his first game-winner. He got revenge after being robbed of a homer on a spectacular play from Denzel Clarke on Monday and locked in after he saw Zach Neto was getting intentionally walked to get to him.
“Once he did it, kind of flipped a switch,” Schanuel said. “Went out there with the most confidence in the world. But it was electric. I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins. Once I saw it fall and ran around the bases, I was super excited. And I don't think I've felt anything like this before."
It came on a night when Soriano didn’t give up his first hit until surrendering an RBI double to Rooker on a slider with two outs in the sixth inning. He was otherwise dominant, as he topped his previous career high of nine strikeouts set on April 4 against the Guardians.
He pitched with increased velocity, as his pitches all averaged more than one mph higher than his season average, including his power sinker that touched 100 mph and averaged 98.1 mph compared to his season average of 96.9 mph.
“I feel great, amazing, especially because I had as many strikeouts as I’ve had in my career and everything was working well tonight,” Soriano said through interpreter Manny Del Campo. “I wasn’t thinking about throwing hard but I just kept the velocity until the seventh inning.”
He registered an astonishing 22 swings and misses, including 16 with his sinker as he simply overpowered opposing hitters. He also picked up four whiffs with his knuckle-curve, one his slider and another with his four-seamer.
“That was a 97-99 mph bowling ball that he had command of tonight,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “The breaking ball keeps guys off balance. That was the best I've seen him. This is two nights back-to-back that their starters go out and do this."
Soriano went back out for the seventh despite being at 91 pitches and gave up a leadoff double to Nick Kurtz on a 2-2 curveball on the outer half of the plate. Soriano struck out Max Muncy on a 98.5 mph sinker before getting Luis Urías to ground out for the second out.
Washington met Soriano at the mound but opted to let him face Austin Wynns even though he was at 104 pitches. Soriano rewarded his manager for having faith in him by getting Wynns to ground out to second to end the inning.
“I just wanted to make sure that he had enough to finish it off because I had someone up in the bullpen,” Washington said. “but I wanted to see it and hear it from him. I wanted to look in his eyes, and I wanted to see what he was about.”
Soriano threw a career-high 110 pitches, topping his previous high of 107 against the Padres on May 13. But he looked strong until the end, as even his final pitch was a 98.7 mph sinker.
He exited with the Angels trailing, but Travis d’Arnaud tied it up with a pinch-hit solo homer in the eighth inning off lefty T.J. McFarland. It was d’Arnaud’s second career pinch-hit homer, with his other one coming while with the Braves on Sept. 4, 2021.
“That was huge,” Washington said. “And it took 10 innings to get it done but we did what we had to do.”