Angels Outfielder Uses Hilarious Adjective to Describe Starting Pitcher

José Soriano had only three strikeouts in his six innings against the Cleveland Guardians on Friday, but two of them came in big moments that impressed his teammates and left them searching for adjectives to describe the starting pitcher.

“He’s gross,” Angels center fielder Mickey Moniak told the Orange County Register. “If you throw 100 and have a curveball like that, the sky’s the limit. It was fun to watch.”

Soriano is still navigating his path in Major League Baseball but he was in the driver's seat with 14 strikes in 17 first-inning pitches in his most recent start. He only needed 88 pitches to get through the outing, allowing five hits and one walk.

Soriano's knuckle curve was filthy, inducing swings and misses in clutch moments.

The first was in the second inning of a scoreless game. With a runner in scoring position, Soriano struck out Gabriel Arias swinging at three consecutive knuckle curves, ending the inning.

The next opportunity was in the fifth inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, Soriano struck out Andres Gimenez on three pitches and ended it with a knuckle curve.

“I thought he was in control,” manager Ron Washington said. “He was spotting his fastball. He was getting the secondary stuff across. When he got in trouble, he made pitches. That’s what he’s capable of doing. I’m very happy for him. He’s been working hard and finally put one together.”

It was clearly Soriano's best start of the season. He now has an ERA 3.77 through 28.2 innings.

“It means a lot to me because I started my career as a starter (in the minors), and all I want to do is win games as a starter,” Soriano said through an interpreter.