ImpactSoriano was initially tabbed to stretch out as a starter during spring camp, but he ultimately made the Opening Day roster as a reliever due to Robert Stephenson's shoulder injury. Soriano entered in the sixth inning in his season debut Sunday and successfully bridged the gap between starter Reid Detmers and closer Carlos Estevez with three scoreless frames. Per Statcast, Soriano averaged 100.4 mph on his 12 four-seam fastballs and 98.2 mph on his 19 sinkers, and he went to his curveball just three times. That's a turnaround from last year, when the curve was the right-hander's most prominent pitch, as he threw it 41.2 percent of the time. Soriano has the arsenal to thrive as either a starter or reliever, with walks being his primary flaw last season -- he posted a 12.4 percent walk rate to somewhat offset his excellent 30.3 percent strikeout rate.
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