TORONTO — One month ago, Jose Soriano was plying his trade for a team destined for yet another last-place finish. Pitching in his fourth season in the big leagues, he’d only ever known the futility of the Los Angeles Angels.
A deadline-day trade to the Toronto Blue Jays changed his fortunes, though, thrusting the promising right-hander into his very first playoff push. Given that context, you could argue Saturday afternoon’s contest at Rogers Centre was among the most important starts of his young career.
Soriano certainly met the moment, tossing seven strong innings as the Blue Jays defeated the Seattle Mariners 4-3 in front of a buoyant crowd of 41,512, and manager John Schneider made sure to point out afterward that Soriano understood the assignment.
“I loved his demeanour today,” Schneider said. “He was pretty stoic, pretty locked in, and that’s a good sign going forward.”
Blue Jays fans had plenty to cheer about on a day the club unveiled its Hall of Excellence and honoured franchise icon Buck Martinez with an induction. A pre-game ceremony included a video tribute, appearances from members of the Hall of Excellence and a rousing speech from Martinez along with his ceremonial first pitch to Schneider.
After the roughly 45-minute commemoration, Soriano stepped onto the mound and made quick work of the Mariners with an eight-pitch first inning. That version of the 27-year-old is exactly what the Blue Jays are working with Soriano to achieve.
Like fellow right-hander Dylan Cease, the organization wants to see him throw more strikes while also being efficient with his pitches so he can go deeper into games. Soriano has been open to making adjustments and listening to feedback from the coaching staff, yet meaningful changes will take time, and he’s now only made five starts with his new club.
Soriano showed progress in the early going on Saturday before he briefly lost the zone in the fourth inning and issued two walks along with two singles. He righted himself quickly, though, and in total, allowed three runs on five hits over seven frames, walking two and punching out six on 94 pitches (65 strikes).
His four-seamer improved as the game progressed, and the final pitch of his outing was a 98 m.p.h. sinker.
“At that moment I was thinking I had to give everything I have for the team,” Soriano said. “Everybody was doing the same thing, so I’m not going to be the only one who’s not doing it.”
His mound work gave the Blue Jays’ offence enough time to figure things out and overcome a 3-0 deficit. In the fifth, M’s reliever Eduard Bazardo loaded the bases for George Springer, who drew a walk to push across one run. A second came immediately as ball four skipped away from catcher Cal Raleigh and Blue Jays leadoff hitter Brett Bateman alertly read the play to score from second base.
In the next frame, Bateman added a sharp opposite-field single to tie the game and set up Alejandro Kirk’s go-ahead RBI knock to right.
Bateman, acquired from the Chicago Cubs in the Kevin Gausman deal, has impressed during his first month of big-league life. He’s hitting .329 (25-for-76) with two stolen bases and nine runs in 18 games.
“With Bate, you’re kind of playing with house money,” said Schneider. “A young kid coming up and he’s just playing his game, which is kind of like what he did today, being, I don’t want to say a pest, but just being a baseball player. That’s what we told him to do. He’s not afraid to do it.”
Bateman broke for third on the 3-2 pitch from Bazardo to Springer and continued running hard around third when he realized the wild pitch had scooted away.
“Live and die by being aggressive on the base paths,” Bateman said. “It went our way this time, but yeah, that’s what I’m trying to do, trying to make things happen.”
The rookie was asked about entering the majors in the thick of a wild-card chase.
“It’s awesome, right?” he responded. “Just trying to do everything I can to add to it and just play my game and fit in as best as I can.”
Soriano is also fitting in nicely, and the right-hander said he’s relishing the pressure that comes with meaningful late-season games that carry weight in the standings.
“It feels incredible, to be honest,” said Soriano. “I think that made me feel better and be better, too.
“I just try to keep my mind loose,” he added later. “I don’t try and take emotion because I have a game going on, so I try to stay loose and stay active, stay aggressive in every moment of the game. I don’t let those things control me. Forget about that and start working and give it my best.”
The Blue Jays’ victory, coupled with a Guardians loss, helped Toronto move 1.5 games back of Cleveland for the third wild-card spot. Additionally, the Blue Jays’ second straight win over Seattle helped create more separation from the Mariners, who now sit 2.5 games behind Toronto in the muddled playoff picture.
Soriano’s next start is expected to be Thursday in the finale of a crucial series against the Guardians. The Blue Jays could have used Monday’s off day to give the right-hander an extra day of rest but will instead throw both Cease and Soriano on normal four-day rest during that three-game set in Cleveland.
For Soriano, in his first taste of a playoff hunt, that’s a no-brainer.
“It doesn’t matter if I lose a day off. I’m going to be ready every time they need me,” he said. “I don’t feel bad for that; I feel happy because they trust me and I can give my best.”