Down two runs and their final three outs Sunday in San Francisco, the yankees he had the last two batters in the order to start the ninth inning against the Giants closer. Camilo Doval.
“Everyone in that dugout thinks we’re going to do something, that we’re going to cause damage.” juan soto he said after the game. “We all know how capable we are of causing harm, so we always maintain a positive attitude.
“…Everyone is there, always thinking positively, always thinking we can do it.”
Four batters later, the two-run hole was a one-run lead when Soto hit his second home run of the day and scored the game-winning RBI in New York victory 7-5giving them a 42-19 record, the best in the MLB.
“Those are some very, very important ABs in a comeback scenario,” the manager said. Aaron Boone he said after the 7-5 victory.
With one out and a runner on first, Antonio Volpe tripled to bring the Yankees within one run, injecting a lot of energy into the team. But Boone said he was the runner on first – catcher Jose Trevino who rushed down the first base line to beat a double play ball that erased Gleyber Torres‘ Opening single – that may have been the catalyst for the big entrance.
“There’s always that belief, but I think everyone got a little excited when Trevy just frankly hit the ball, like, ‘Okay, we have a chance to potentially get our bigs up there,’ the manager said. “And then boom, Volp puts that one in the hole.”
Soto said, “It takes everything to put together a tackle like that,” and began with the receiver’s hustle play.
“Trevino did something huge when he ran that ground ball and beat it,” he said. “That was huge.”
For Treviño, “It’s just effort and playing for the guys in this clubhouse, plain and simple. The ball comes off my bat and I run as hard as I can towards first base.”
With Treviño at first base for Volpe – who called the play a “huge burst of energy” – the manager said he was thinking about sending in a pinch-runner, even though the catcher didn’t account for the tying run.
After Volpe’s liner headed for “Triples Alley,” the manager was left to ponder his decision, thinking, “Please, let’s go Trevy! Let’s go Trevy!” he said, breaking into a wide smile.
“I hesitated a little to see if it was going to go down, but once I knew it was going down, I put it in the fastest gear I had,” Treviño said, unable to contain a laugh.
But the deficit remained one. And with a runner on third and one out, Soto said he was just thinking about throwing the ball in the air to score Volpe with a sacrifice fly. But Doval left a 97.6 mph cutter off the plate and paid the price.
“He left me one right up the middle,” Soto said of the 1-0 pitch that clocked 108.2 mph off the bat and 398 feet to right field to put the Yankees ahead for good.
“That’s what he does” Aaron judge saying. “We’ve been seeing it all year.”
Boone said, “Those are some wild at-bats.”
For Soto, the late home run was his 17th of the season following his 430-foot solo home run in the first inning. With his 3-for-5 afternoon, the 25-year-old saw his OPS rise to 1.031 on the year, the second-highest in baseball. Of course, only behind Judge’s 1,075.
“He’s just amazing,” Soto said of his outfield counterpart. “Every time he hits the ball it’s just a double, a home run. It’s just amazing what he’s been doing. And I am more than excited to continue doing it with him.”
Judge, who walked in the ninth and stole a base before returning to score on a Giancarlo Stanton ground rule double in the ninth, finished the series in San Francisco 6 for 9 with three home runs, six RBIs and three walks.
Holmes Clay put the Giants in order in the ninth to secure the victory and the weekend sweep.
After the mettle shown in his return Sunday night, Judge considers the 2024 team to be one of the best he has played on.
“I can go back through the years how many (times) we probably lose that game, teams bring their closer in two runs and go 1-2-3,” the ninth-year Yankee said. “This team is different. They came in there with the mentality of, ‘Hey, we’re still in this game, we just have to get the first guy in and see what happens.'”
Treviño, who is playing his third season in the striped uniform, agreed with the team captain.
“It’s different, it’s different,” the receiver said. “We’re playing for each other, not to say we haven’t in the past, but this year we’re playing for the guy next to us, the guy in uniform.
“We are playing for everyone in this squad. “We just want it.”
Soto added: “We’re just having fun, that’s all I can tell you. “We’re all having fun.”
