Jose Soriano's off night might have simple explanation Angels fans needed to hear

You're not going to win 'em all, and on Tuesday night in Chicago, Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher José Soriano lost his first game of the season. The right-hander allowed three runs on six hits while striking out six and walking three. Two of the hits left the yard, but Soriano's ERA is still sitting below 1.00.

Given all the struggles the Angels have dealt with over the past two weeks, Soriano's shortcomings against the Chicago White Sox could raise some alarm bells throughout the fanbase. Thankfully, however, there appears to be reason for optimism based on manager Kurt Suzuki's postgame comments.

Angels' starter José Soriano was battling a minor injury vs. White Sox

Suzuki told reporters after Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the White Sox that Soriano was battling a sore neck. The Angels skipper claimed that Soriano woke up with a stiff neck after lying down after lunch.

“He battled through it,” Suzuki told MLB.com reporter Rhett Bollinger. “All of his games are good, but tonight I might have been the most proud of him for gutting it out and giving us everything he’s got. I know it didn’t come out on our side, but he took the ball, and that’s what aces do.”

This welcome news should bring a measure of comfort to those Angels fans who thought the sky was falling following Soriano's subpar performance. The right-hander had been riding a streak of scoreless innings that came to a halt after 25⅔ frames when White Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery sent a solo shot into the stands at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago. Drew Romo took Soriano deep as well, and the LA faithful were no doubt curious what had happened to their ace.

Even after Tuesday's loss, Soriano is the likely frontrunner for the AL Cy Young Award. He has 49 strikeouts over seven starts with a 0.938 WHIP and 0.84 ERA. He's been utterly dominant.

Even the best pitchers in the game can have an off-night. Baseball fans watched as Paul Skenes pulled during the first inning of the Pittsburgh Pirates' Opening Day game against the New York Mets after allowing five runs on 37 pitches. Since then, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner is 4-0 with a 0.95 ERA and 29 punch outs over his last five starts.

So while it was certainly upsetting to see Soriano's scoreless streak come to an end, there's no need to panic — not over his performance, anyway. If you're worried about the Halos' bullpen, that's perfectly legitimate.

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