José Soriano’s Blue Jays debut offers a close look at Toronto’s new rotation plan

PHILADELPHIA — José Soriano’s first start in a Blue Jays uniform was not as lengthy as Toronto might have hoped, but it gave the club an early look at what its newest rotation addition can offer. Soriano allowed two runs, one earned, over 4 2/3 innings Friday night as the Blue Jays held on for a 5-4 win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

The right-hander gave up four hits and three walks while striking out three. The outing was not clean, but it included a defining stretch in the fifth inning that highlighted both the problems and the promise.

The fifth-inning sequence that defined the outing

Soriano walked Bryson Stott to open the fifth and then allowed a double to Justin Crawford, putting both the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. With a one-run lead suddenly in danger, Soriano turned to his knuckle curve.

He got Kyle Schwarber to swing through one for the first out, then did the same to Trea Turner. According to MLB.com’s game report, Soriano threw eight knuckle curves over 10 pitches against that pair, showing he could adjust in the middle of a difficult inning. Reliever Mason Fluharty then entered and struck out Bryce Harper to end the threat.

How the Phillies scored their runs

Philadelphia’s first run came in the second inning after Soriano walked Brandon Marsh. An error by Jesús Sánchez helped produce the run. In the third, Schwarber doubled with one out and scored on Harper’s RBI single. Soriano limited the damage after that, and Toronto took the lead in the fourth.

The key numbers from the debut are summarized below.

What Toronto is asking Soriano to change

Manager John Schneider said before the game that he and pitching coach Pete Walker had been talking with Soriano about his approach during their first days together. The message, according to Schneider, was simple: get in the zone and trust your stuff.

“Obviously, the first 40 innings of this year were elite for José, but there are things we’ve talked about in terms of not being on the edges so much, trying to dominate the 1-1 and 0-0 counts,” Schneider said.

The game showed some of that approach. Soriano did not throw a ball to either of the first two hitters he faced. Later, with two outs in the first inning and Harper at the plate, Soriano threw a splitter that Harper rolled over for an easy grounder to second.

Schneider pointed to Dylan Cease as a template. Cease worked with Walker and the coaching staff during spring training, and Schneider said the Blue Jays want to use a similar process with Soriano, though he acknowledged the two pitchers have different stuff and personalities. The timing is the complicating factor: Soriano is joining Toronto in the middle of what the team hopes will be a playoff push.

“It has to be a little bit quick and it has to be both ways,” Schneider said. “You have to be pretty receptive to it. You want to let him do what he’s comfortable with, but at the same time offer some suggestions as to what we think may make him better. There will be a little bit of back and forth. It’s him trusting in that process, right? When you have a pretty good track record for success with guys, I think it’s easy for the pitcher to buy into it.”

Why this matters for the Blue Jays

The win was the immediate result, but the larger issue is how quickly Soriano can settle into a new club’s plan. Friday showed the kind of swing-and-miss pitch that can make him effective, especially his knuckle curve in the fifth. It also showed the command inconsistency that has made his season uneven.

Toronto is not in a position to wait through a long adjustment period. Schneider acknowledged that the process “has to be a little bit quick,” and the Blue Jays are betting that Soriano can absorb the coaching while still competing in games. The fifth inning suggests the early conversations are having some effect, though one outing is not proof of a lasting change.

What remains unclear

The Blue Jays have not said how long Soriano will go in future starts or whether the club will keep him on a short leash. Friday was a one-game sample, and he still walked three hitters in fewer than five innings. Schneider described Soriano’s first 40 innings of the season as elite, which leaves a wide gap between that level and the rest of his year. Whether the new approach sticks will be measured in his next appearances.

Source: https://www.mlb.com/news/jose-soriano-makes-blue-jays-debut-against-phillies