SAN FRANCISCO — The Angels’ 4-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Sunday was like an infomercial for the products they have to sell.
José Soriano gave up one unearned run in five innings, and Jo Adell and Jorge Soler each hit homers. Any or all of those players could be traded by the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
Mike Trout, who certainly isn’t going to be traded, also had his first four-hit game since April 2021.
“He can hit, you know,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “He’s going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He’s always under control. He’s always controlling the strike zone. He’s not trying to do too much. You saw today. He didn’t like absolutely blister every ball, but it was just good at-bats, good approaches. That’s what Hall of Fame hitters do.”
The Angels (42-64) snapped a three-game losing streak, but not without some sweat in the ninth inning. Bringing a three-run lead into the inning, right-hander Sam Bachman walked two of the three hitters he faced. Left-hander Mitch Farris gave up a two-run double before striking out Heliot Ramos to end the game.
The game ended on a called third strike that was out of the zone, but the Giants were out of challenges.
At this point in this dreadful season, most of the interest surrounding the Angels relates to what they are going to do at the deadline.
The market for Soriano, a 27-year-old with two years of control after this one, was already likely to be strong, even without Sunday’s performance.
After a brilliant April and then some struggles in May and June, Soriano seems to have righted the ship in July. He has a 2.74 ERA in his last four starts. In the two starts since the All-Star break, he has given up just two earned runs in 12 innings. For the season, he has a 3.29 ERA.
“I thought he was good,” Suzuki said. “Things looked a little crisper today, even more than last time. Breaking balls were good. Some good splits. Splits were pretty firm and crisp, so they almost looked like sinkers. I thought he was really good today.”
Soriano had no trouble with the Giants until the fifth, and that was caused by a wind-blown popup that dropped just behind shortstop Zach Neto. Neto also made a throwing error, leading to the only run in the inning.
The Angels ended up pulling Soriano after the inning, with just 85 pitches. It seemed like a somewhat quick hook. The Giants had their two best left-handed hitters — Bryce Eldridge and Rafael Devers — due to lead off the sixth.
The Angels also may have been making sure that Soriano finished strong while they’re listening to offers for him. Reid Detmers, another starter who could be moved, has come out short of 90 pitches in each of his two starts since the All-Star break.
Soriano’s run support came from Soler and Adell, who had both been slumping.
Soler hit his 12th homer of the season and first since June 24. Soler, who played for the Giants in 2024, came into the game hitting .155 with a .532 OPS in 23 games since he came off the injured list.
“It felt great to hit that the homer, not because I hit it against (the Giants), because it was a long time since I hit a homer,” Soler said through an interpreter.
Soler also drove in a run in the first with a ground ball. Soler needed his fastest home-to-first time of the season to beat out a double play, allowing the run to score.
Soler said the trade rumors are nothing he hasn’t dealt with before.
“I have been traded a lot of times, so I’m not worried about that,” Soler said. “What I need to do is get better, hit better and help the team win.”
Adell hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning, his 16th of the season.
Adell remains under control to the Angels next season, so they don’t need to trade him if the offers aren’t sufficient. A team that is looking for some pop against left-handed pitching could be attracted to Adell’s .951 OPS against lefties this season.
“That was nice,” Suzuki said of Adell’s homer. “I was watching him hit today in the cage before the game and he was putting some some nice swings. He’s been working. He did the same thing in the game. It was beautiful.”