José Soriano has been exceeding all expectations to start the year. So far in 2026, Soriano has posted a 2.41 ERA with 67 strikeouts through 59.2 innings of work. He’s also responsible for 6 of the Angels’ league-worst 17 wins and has worked miracles as he’s kept the Angels competitive in the majority of his 10 starts. Tonight, he’ll take the mound for the 11th time this season as he hopes to pick up another win. He’s proven he has the stuff to win games, but he'll need run support, clean defense, and a steady bullpen to turn his start into a win.José Soriano, Vicious 94mph Splitter. 😤 pic.twitter.com/ypivFyGqZV— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 10, 2026What bats will make an impact?Luis Severino will be dueling Soriano tonight. He’s had a middling start to his 2026 campaign, as he’s posted a 4.45 ERA through 54.2 innings. Historically, Severino has found success against the Angels, as evidenced by his 3.38 ERA in 7 career starts. Despite this, a few current Angels have found success against him. To no surprise, Mike Trout has found the most success against Severino in the largest sample size. Through 9 plate appearances, he’s posting a .429 average and 1.556 OPS with one homerun. Expect Trout to likely get on base and do some damage tonight. Zach Neto has also mashed against Severino as he is 3 for 6 against him in his young career. These 2 will likely lead off the game as they have done all year. Moncada and Frazier have both posted good numbers against Severino, posting a .357 and .750 average, respectively. Frazier will get the start at second tonight and if Moncada subs in at any point, expect some familiarity and impact from both of them. While they don’t have a history against Severino, Adell, Soler, and Lowe could also add some run support for Soriano. All 3 of the halos homered in last night’s 6-5 loss to the A’s and should have eyes on them to see if they can stay hot tonight. JO ADELL CRUSHED pic.twitter.com/mLmkZwsRgB— SleeperMLB (@SleeperMLB) May 21, 2026Tonight, the Angels don’t need to explode for 10-plus runs to win. Rather, they need early pressure and a handful of runs from their established bats to support Soriano. Can the bullpen close it out?The Angels have struggled to maintain what few leads they’ve had this year, and this issue ties directly to their bullpen. Their bullpen enters tonight as one of the worst in baseball, ranking 29th in bullpen ERA at 5.60, and they have only 5 saves coupled with 10 blown saves. Last night’s game is clear proof of the bullpen’s struggles. Jack Kochanowicz left the game after 6 good innings of work and a 5-3 lead. Unfortunately, the bullpen imploded, allowing a run in the 7th, a game-tying solo shot in the 9th, and a game-winning single in the 10th. Soriano has proven he can give the Angels 6 or 7 strong innings of work, but the bullpen still needs to step up if the Angels want to end this series with a win. Tonight, the Angels do not need to explode offensively. They need early traffic, productive at-bats, and enough support late in the game to let Soriano pitch aggressively. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow