George Soriano: Everything you need to know

Soriano gave up a run on two hits in the ninth inning Saturday to record his second save of the season in a 4-2 win over the Royals. With Riley O'Brien having pitched Thursday and Friday and the Cardinals holding a fairly comfortable three-run lead, Soriano got the call to close things out but served up a solo shot to Jac Caglianone and a single to Isaac Collins to make things interesting. Soriano has worked his way into a high-leverage role in his first season with St. Louis, posting a 3.66 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 16:10 K:BB over 19.2 innings with a win and eight holds in 21 appearances in addition to his two saves.

Soriano secured the save Monday against the Pirates, allowing no runs on one hit and no walks in the ninth inning. He struck out one. It's possible the Cardinals were short on available high-leverage arms following a competitive weekend series with the Mariners, which enabled Soriano to step up for his first save of the season. The 27-year-old right-hander could see occasional work as a setup man going forward but isn't likely to see many save opportunities in most situations, and he has a 4.38 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 10:6 K:BB over his first 12.1 frames.

Soriano could be considered for high-leverage chances in the Cardinals' bullpen moving forward, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Soriano earned his first win as a Cardinal in his last appearance Tuesday versus the Nationals, retiring all six batters he faced (three via strikeout) in the eighth and ninth innings in St. Louis' extra-inning win. The righty's velocity is up throughout his repertoire -- which includes a changeup that topped out at 92.8 mph Tuesday -- and he's incorporated a new gyro slider. Soriano was acquired via trade from the Nationals just before the start of spring training.