White Sox go deep, get win against hottest pitcher in MLB
Not only was Angels right-hander Jose Soriano off to the best start by a pitcher in major-league history, he'd beaten the Braves, Padres, Reds and Cubs — four of the top seven teams in MLB this season.
Wouldn't you know it, looking for a Chicago sweep Tuesday on the South Side, Soriano gave up a pair of home runs and suffered his first loss of the season.
Catcher Drew Romo homered twice, from both sides of the plate, which were also the first two homers of his big-league career, as the White Sox won 5-2 at Rate Field. The Sox (13-17) are just two games behind first-place Detroit in the AL Central standings.
Romo was called up from Charlotte and made his White Sox debut on Saturday. He put his new team ahead in the fourth inning by sending an 0-2 sinker from Soriano over the fence for a 2-run homer. He added a second long ball in the sixth off reliever Brent Suter.
“One of the best days of my life,” Romo said. “We won the game, which is most important. So thankful, so appreciative, everything it's taken to get here, all the ups and downs. Incredible ride, incredible journey.”
Romo became the first Sox player to homer from both side of the plate in the same game since Leury Garcia in 2020. Before this season, he had played 19 major-league games with Colorado. During the winter, he was claimed on waivers by the Orioles, Mets and finally the White Sox.
Colson Montgomery was the first to connect against Soriano, sending a curveball deep into the right field seats in the second inning.
Meanwhile, White Sox right-hander Davis Martin did his part to stay in the American League Cy Young race, allowing a single run over 5 2/3 innings, with 7 strikeouts. Martin (4-1) lowered his season ERA to 1.95, while Soriano finished the night at 0.84.
“The biggest thing was our offense,” Martin said. “It's all about what they did against probably the best arm in the league right now. That's all you can ask for is to get that kind of run support.”
Soriano was off to the best start of any pitcher in MLB history, sporting a 0.24 ERA heading into Tuesday's action. No one else had allowed just 1 run over his first six starts.
Explaining Soriano's unprecedented success isn't difficult. He throws both a sinker and four-seam at 97-98 miles per hour, then mixes in a knuckle curve and splitter, so he can work all sides of the zone with velocity, then get hitters to chase his breaking stuff.
But Soriano, 27, now in his fourth MLB season, posted a 4.26 ERA last year. The Angels hired veteran pitching coach Mike Maddux, so he might have helped Soriano's growth. The right-hander is also using a more balanced mix of his top-four pitches, after throwing mostly sinker and curve the previous two years.
Soriano hung a curveball to Montgomery. Then with the score tied 1-1 in the fourth, he put a sinker over the middle of the plate at the knees and Romo was ready for it, launching a lone line drive into the bullpen.
“Me and (pitching coach Zach) Bove were just shaking each other (in the dugout),” Martin said. “Just super-excited, everybody was super pumped. Again, this is the kind of clubhouse we have, where everybody's super excited for each other and everybody wants to see each other succeed.”