While the Yankees’ victory wasn’t solely down to the batting prowess of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, Soto still managed to inflict significant damage on the Rays.
The left-handed slugger went 3-for-5 with one double, one deep solo homer and one three-run homer in the Yankees’ dominating 9-1 win on Monday afternoon.
This was Soto’s 21st career multi-home run game and his fourth this season, tying him with Eddie Matthews for the second-most multi-home run games among major leaguers under the age of 25, behind Mel Ott (24).
This was a game where manager Carlos Rodon marveled daily at Soto, who boasts a 1.008 OPS.
“I don’t know. I was talking to somebody about this the other day,” said Rodon, who pitched seven innings and gave up one run. “I was like, ‘You know what? Do you feel like Juan Soto? What’s easier: batting .450 in high school or batting .350 in college and hitting a lot of home runs?’ I don’t know. … It’s still a challenge, right? He makes it look easy. Baseball has its ups and downs. He has his downs, but he swings the bat really well.”
Soto’s first home run came on an 0-2 pitch, traveling 424 feet down the right field line into the upper seats to give the Yankees a 6-1 lead in the seventh inning.
He stood at home and tried to use his body language to make the ball fair, from the time the ball went over the foul pole to the time he overly cautiously walked around the base.
“I was just trying to make sure it was a fair ball. I literally tried everything I could to make it a fair ball. So it was fun to watch and I’m sure I hit a home run,” Soto said.
Soto hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning.
“The first ball was really far away. The second ball was really hard and low, so it’s fun to watch both,” Rodon said. “Higher, lower, just a great hitter, great player.”
Soto hit the final two of the Yankees’ five home runs. Austin Wells and Anthony Volpe homered in the second inning, their first in two months. DJ LeMahieu homered in the fifth inning for his first of the season.
“Yeah, it’s always good to see those guys doing what they do best,” Soto said. “They’re swinging the bat well. We needed all of them the other day. You need more than two guys to go to the World Series and win it.”
