Yet as Soria rolls on as the Tigers' closer, he's encountering a problem that Benoit seemed to battle for at least one stretch every season: Soria is dealing with a rash of home runs. Much like Benoit in 2012, however, Soria is battling home runs at a pace he's never seen in his career, even as he enjoys a bounce-back season on a contending team.
Overall, the numbers are strong. But when Indians backup catcher Roberto Perez sent a first-pitch fastball deep to right field off Soria in the ninth inning during Monday night's 8-5 win, it marked Soria's fifth home run allowed in his last six outings, and his seventh this season, tying his career high from 2011 while with Kansas City.