Another game another new Yankees moment for Juan Soto, and Wednesday’s feat may be the most impressive this season.
With the Yankees down 1-0 and being dominated by starter Cole Ragans for five innings, Soto came up to the plate with a man on and one out. Soto fouled off a 2-2 slider off the top of his foot and below his shin guard. The ball went a few feet up the foul line and the Yankees outfielder fell to the ground in obvious pain.
The Yankees’ head trainer and Aaron Boone came out to check on their superstar but after a few moments, Soto gathered himself to finish the at-bat.
Two pitches later, and Soto launched Ragans’ curveball 402 feet over the right field wall to give the Yankees a much-needed 2-1 lead.
“Huge swing by Juan there. A little rope-a-dope. Got up off the mat, put one in the seats,” Boone said after the game. “Just a huge at-bat with Ragans having his way with us.”
The moment was a wake-up call for a team that was shut out the night before and aside from Monday’s 10-run barrage, the Yankees offense 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 blast seemingly reinvigorated the dugout, allowing the Yankees to tie the game after the Royals took a late lead and eventually, the walk-off win in Wednesday’s 4-3 thriller in 11 innings thanks to Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s infield single that plated Jon Berti.
Chisholm, the Yankees’ biggest acquisition at the trade deadline, is starting to feel the playoff-like atmosphere in the Bronx and the Soto at-bat was a precursor to that experience.
“When you saw him get up, the way he was looking around, you could see in his eyes he was about to do something special,” he said.
Said Boone: “[Soto’s] got that theatric thing down pretty good.”
Soto’s longball was his career-best 39th homer of the season but it may be one of his most emotional as the left-hander flipped his bat and yelled to his dugout.
“Part of the game. You really get 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 feels like a little release”
While the end result was a moment that will be told in the story of the 2024 Yankees, it could have been bad. Boone said he was worried that Soto couldn’t finish the game, but the young outfielder sucked it up and put up a great at-bat. In fact, he believes the foul ball helped him.
“It was a lot of pain. At the end of the day, I try to focus on the at-bat,” Soto said. “Sometimes when you hit yourself like that, you kinda go away from the at-bat. I tried to focus, take my time and go in there and make good contact.”
The Yankees win coupled with an Orioles loss now has New York 1.5 games ahead for the AL East lead. And while Soto’s blast on one foot wasn’t the deciding moment, it jumpstarted a team that desperately needed something.
They’ll look to keep the momentum going when they host the Boston Red Sox for four games at The Stadium starting Thursday.