Another game, another new one Yankees time for Juan SotoAnd Wednesday’s feat may be the most impressive of this season.
With the Yankees down 1-0 and being dominated by the starter Cole Ragan For five innings, Soto came to the plate with one man on base and one out. Soto hit a 2-2 slider that caught the Yankees’ top of the foot and below the shin guard. The ball went a few feet over the foul line and the Yankees outfielder fell to the ground in obvious pain.
The Yankees head coach and Aaron Boone He went out to see his superstar but after a few moments, Soto composed himself to finish the at-bat.
Two pitches later, Soto launched Ragans’ curveball 402 feet over the right-field wall to give the Yankees a much-needed 2-1 lead.
“Juan took a great swing. He got up off the mat and put a ball in the seats,” Boone said after the game. “It was a great at-bat with Ragans doing whatever he wanted with us.”
The moment was a wake-up call for a team that had been shut out the night before and, aside from Monday’s 10-run barrage, the Yankees’ offense had scored just six runs in the previous three games. They were also in danger of losing a series and potentially their lead in the AL East standings.
Instead, the explosion apparently revitalized the dugout, allowing the Yankees to tie the game after the Royals took a late lead and ultimately the victory in Wednesday’s game. Thriller 4-3 in 11 innings thanks to Jazz Chisholm JrThe infield single that drove in Jon Berti.
Chisholm, the Yankees’ biggest acquisition of the trade deadline, is just starting to get a feel for the playoff atmosphere in the Bronx and Soto’s at-bat was a precursor to that experience.
“When you saw him get up, the way he looked around, you could see in his eyes that he was about to do something special,” she said.
Boone said: “(Soto) has that theatrical aspect pretty well mastered.”
Soto’s homer was his 39th career homer of the season, but it may be one of his most emotional, as the left-hander threw his bat and screamed toward his dugout.
“It’s part of the game. You get really mad when you hit yourself. I’m not mad at the pitcher, I’m mad at myself,” Soto said. “When you bounce back like that, it feels like a little relief.”
While the end result was a moment that will go down in Yankees history in 2024, it could have been bad. Boone said he was worried that Soto wouldn’t be able to finish the game, but the young outfielder pulled through and had a great at-bat. In fact, he thinks the foul ball helped him.
“It was very painful. At the end of the day, I try to focus on the at-bat,” Soto said. “Sometimes when you get hit like that, it takes you away from the at-bat. I tried to focus, take my time and go in and make good contact.”
The Yankees’ win, combined with the Orioles’ loss, gives New York a 1.5-game lead atop the AL East. And while Soto’s one-footed blast wasn’t the defining moment, it did give a team that desperately needed some momentum.
They will look to keep the momentum going when they host the Boston Red Sox for four games at The Stadium beginning Thursday.