Milwaukee, Wis.- Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher José Soriano has been shaping up to be a major part of the Angels starting rotation for years to come. While Soriano’s season has been an up and down mix with a 10-11 record and an ERA of 4.26, he has shown flashes of brilliance that could cement him as the ace of the staff moving forward.
That’s what makes what happened Wednesday night in Milwaukee so troubling.
Soriano had only made it to the second inning, having walked one batter and and allowing a single to another, before he suffered a scary moment against Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers. Bauers squared up a 2-1 sinker at the bottom of the zone and sent a line drive straight back at Soriano. The ball deflected off his forearm for a hit that loaded the bases, but also left Soriano kneeled down in pain.
Soriano had to leave the game after that point and was later diagnosed with a forearm contusion. Soriano’s x-rays came back negative for a fracture, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, but his status is still up in the air regarding if he’ll be able to make his next start.
The Angels have been plagued by injuries as the 2025 season comes to a close with the losses of players like Zach Neto, who is out for the season with a left hand sprain. Soriano would be the next in a long list of injuries if the sharp starter is shut down for the remainder of 2025.
Reliever Connor Brogdon replaced Soriano in the second, and the brewers began to run away with the game.
The bases loaded situation that Brogon inherited exploded into a five run inning for the Brewers after a single from center fielder Blake Perkins and a three-run home run from right fielder Sal Frelick with two outs. The hits kept on coming for the Brewers after that and they ran way with the game 9-2, the second straight night they defeated the Angels by that margin.
Both Angel runs came from RBI’s by outfielder Taylor Ward, who set a major milestone with his contributions to the game. Ward reached 100 RBI’s for the first time in his career in Wednesday night’s game, a testament to the way that Ward has emerged as a major offensive presence for Los Angeles.
Beyond Ward, the Angels offense has continued to struggle in the last days of the season. They have just six runs and 11 hits in their last three games and have now lost six in a row on their last road trip of the season.