Another game, another Yankees moment for Juan Sotoand Wednesday’s performance is perhaps the most impressive of the season.
With the Yankees trailing 1-0 and dominated by their starting pitcher Cole Ragans For five innings, Soto came to the plate with a man on and one out. Soto fouled out on a 2-2 slider off the top of his foot and under his shin guard. The ball went several feet up over the foul line, and the Yankees outfielder fell to the ground in obvious pain.
The Yankees head coach and Aaron Boone came to check on their superstar, but after a few minutes Soto recovered and finished the at-bat.
Two pitches later, Soto threw Ragans’ curveball 410 feet over the right-field wall, giving the Yankees a much-needed 2-1 lead.
“Huge shot by Juan there. A little rope-a-dope. Came off the mat, put one on the chairs,” Boone said after the game. “Just a huge at-bat with Ragans going at it with us.”
The moment was a wake-up call for a team that had been shut out the night before and, excluding Monday’s 10-run barrage, the Yankees offense had scored just six runs in its previous three games. They were also in danger of losing a series and possibly their lead in the AL East standings.
Instead, the explosion appeared to breathe new life into the dugout, allowing the Yankees to tie the game after the Royals took a late lead and eventually earned the walk-off win in Wednesday’s thrilling 4-3, 11-inning game thanks to Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s infield single that made the record Jon Berti.
Chisholm, the Yankees’ biggest signing of the trade deadline, is getting a taste of the playoff atmosphere in the Bronx. Soto’s at-bat was a precursor to that experience.
“When you saw him stand up and look around, you could see in his eyes that he was about to do something special,” he said.
Boone said: “[Soto’s] “I’ve got that theatrical stuff down pretty well.”
Soto’s home run was his best of the season: 39. But it may have been one of his most emotional. The left-handed pitcher threw his bat up and yelled toward the dugout.
“Part of the game. You get really mad when you hit yourself. Not mad at the pitcher, I’m just mad at myself,” Soto explained. “When you come through like that, it’s like a little bit of a release.”
While the end result was a moment that will be told in the 2024 Yankees’ story, it could have ended badly. Boone said he was worried Soto wouldn’t finish the game, but the young outfielder hung in there and turned in a great at-bat. In fact, he believes the foul ball helped him.
“It was really painful. At the end of the day, I just try to focus on the at-bat,” Soto said. “Sometimes when you hit yourself like that, you kind of get away from the at-bat. I just tried to focus, take my time and go out there and make good contact.”
The Yankees win, combined with an Orioles loss, now puts New York 1.5 games ahead of the AL East. And while Soto’s one-foot shot wasn’t the defining moment, it gave a team in desperate need of something a jumpstart.
They’ll look to keep the momentum going when they play four games at The Stadium against the Boston Red Sox starting on Thursday.
