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OAKLAND — Juan Soto didn’t feel great.
When he woke up Friday morning, his left knee was stiff, swollen and achy. The night prior, he slammed it into the wall making a sliding catch at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, and with just nine games left in the season and a month until his hotly anticipated free agency, he was worried something might be very wrong.
Turned out, he wasn’t just OK. He was en route to delivering another signature moment in his first and — avert your eyes, New York Yankees fans — perhaps only season in pinstripes.
Soto battled through soreness in his knee to deliver 10th-inning, pinch-hitting heroics in a crucial 4-2 win over the Oakland A’s at the Coliseum.
“Showman-like,” said Gerrit Cole, the night’s other hero who allowed just one run over nine innings and 99 pitches.
Let’s run through the most standout parts of Soto’s brief, but impactful performance.
Soto. Clutch. pic.twitter.com/w8Xf28blfL
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 21, 2024
Playing through pain
Soto wasn’t totally ready. Though manager Aaron Boone’s initial lineup had the 25-year-old batting second and playing right field, Soto’s pregame work told the team to yank him out just hours before first pitch.
Earlier in the day, Soto received the best news of all: X-rays of his kneecap didn’t reveal structural damage.
“It was really a relief,” he said.
A bigger relief? Getting the job done when Boone called upon him with the game on the line.
In the 10th with the score tied 1-1, after Anthony Rizzo led off with a single to right field and moved automatic runner Jasson Domínguez to third base, Boone figured it was the right time. So, Soto pinch hit for center fielder Trent Grisham.
With the count 1-1, Oakland reliever T.J. McFarland whipped an 88-mph sinker that went all the way to the backstop for a wild pitch. Domínguez slid feet-first under the pitcher’s tag. The Yankees had taken the lead.
Then, on the next pitch, Soto roped a slider to the right-field corner. The ball (exit velocity: 110 mph) zipped over the left fielder’s head, scoring pinch-runner Oswaldo Cabrera from second base.
Soto cruised into second base and then came out for pinch runner Jon Berti.
“What a big-time at-bat,” Boone said.
“That was awesome,” catcher Austin Wells said. “I mean, he couldn’t play the whole game? He came in at the end? Just a piece-o’-cake double. No, I’m glad he’s healthy, and he did a great job coming off the bench.”
It brought to mind Soto’s performance from nine days prior when he fouled a ball off his foot, went down in pain and then continued the at-bat only to crush a long two-run homer off Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Cole Ragans. The Yankees won the game 4-3.
Willingness to put his body on the line
On Friday afternoon, Soto spent time hitting in the cage with assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler and doing squats in the weight room. But he wasn’t ready. Soto and the Yankees decided to give him more time to rest. So, Aaron Judge shifted to right field and Grisham started in center.
Yet, by the time the middle of the game came around, Boone said that Soto approached him to tell him that he could hit if the game was on the line.
Soto didn’t have to do that. He could have taken the rest of the day to protect his knee — and his availability for the postseason. The Yankees clinched a playoff berth Wednesday and maintained their four-game lead in the American League East with eight games remaining.
But Soto wanted to play.
“I know we clinched and this and that,” he said. “But at the end of the day, the goal is to win the division, and we are really close. I didn’t think about any day off or anything. But we’re trying to be smart too and think about October and not think about right now. So, yeah, all the options came through my mind.”
Cole had a simple explanation.
“He loves the moment, man,” Cole said. “He loves it.”
Juan Soto discusses status of his knee, pinch-hitting, playoff anticipation and more. pic.twitter.com/WnpFPVpna2
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 21, 2024
A nod to his teammates and training staff
The Yankees’ dugout exploded after Soto’s double. It was clear how much Soto adores his teammates as he danced and sprayed champagne with them during Wednesday’s celebration of the Yankees nailing down a playoff spot.
But he put it into words Friday.
“These guys are unbelievable,” he said. “These guys are great. I love every single guy that is in here. We’ve been together since Day 1, and we’ve been showing love day in and day out, and it’s just a great feeling.”
Soto also credited the Yankees’ medical and strength staffers for their work on his knee.
“The trainers did a pretty good job to help me get the swelling down and it felt very good,” he said.
He added, “(The knee) reacted pretty well. So throughout the game, I was feeling good. It wasn’t sore or anything after all the work we put in, and that’s when I knew I had a good chance to be an option.”
(Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
