The Angels beat the Astros 3–0 on Opening Day. José Soriano went eight:600">six innings, allowed four hits, walked one, and struck out eight. He left with the lead and the Angels held it without any drama. They are 1–0. It is the first Opening Day win this franchise has had in four years, and the first Opening Day road win since 2013.
Soriano's stuff was clean from the first pitch. He threw 91 pitches, had his fastball sitting 96–97, and the Astros couldn't string anything together against him. He got a 1-2-3 fifth and left having faced 23 batters. The lead he gave them was nothing at that point — still 0–0 — but he kept the game close enough that one swing could matter.
That swing came in the seventh. Mike Trout hit a solo home run off reliever AJ Blubaugh, a 96 mph fastball he drove 403 feet onto the train tracks in left-center. Trout also walked three times and played center field for the first time since April 2024. It was his 14th Opening Day start — a franchise record — and his fifth Opening Day home run, also a franchise record. He is 34 years old and he looked like the best player in the ballpark on Thursday afternoon.
Oswald Peraza added an RBI single in the eighth to make it 2–0. Nolan Schanuel homered in the ninth. Jordan Romano then came out and closed the bottom of the ninth for the save.
None of that is nothing. A 3–0 shutout on Opening Day with a quality start, a Trout home run, and Romano getting the save is a reasonable day of baseball. The things that were supposed to work worked. Soriano did what Soriano is supposed to do when he's healthy. Trout hit the ball hard. The bullpen was quiet.
The things that haven't changed: Grayson Rodriguez is on the injured list and nobody knows when he's back. Seven players unavailable at the start of the season remains a lot. The record is 1–0. One hundred and sixty-one games to go.
Kikuchi starts Friday night in Game 2. It's on Apple TV+.