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OAKLAND — Juan Soto wasn’t feeling well.
When he woke up Friday morning, his left knee was stiff, swollen and painful. He’d slammed it into a wall the night before with a sliding catch at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, and with just nine games left in the season and a month until his long-awaited free agency, he worried something was terribly wrong.
Turns out he wasn’t just OK. He was on track to deliver another signature moment in his first and — look away, New York Yankees fans — perhaps only season in pinstripes.
Soto, battling a sore knee, delivered a stellar 10th-inning pinch-hitter performance in a decisive 4-2 victory over the Oakland A’s at the Coliseum.
“A showman,” said Gerrit Cole, the other hero of the evening who allowed only one run in nine innings and 99 pitches.
Let’s take a look at the most notable parts of Soto’s short but impactful performance.
Soto. Coupling. photo.twitter.com/w8Xf28blfL
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 21, 2024
Playing through the pain
Soto wasn’t quite ready. Although manager Aaron Boone’s initial lineup had the 25-year-old as a second batter and right fielder, Soto’s pregame work prompted the team to pull him out a few hours before first pitch.
Earlier in the day, Soto received the best news: X-rays of his kneecap showed no structural damage.
“It was really a relief,” he said.
A bigger relief? Getting the job done when Boone called him up with the game on the line.
In the 10th inning with the score tied at 1-1, after Anthony Rizzo led off with a single to right, moving automatic runner Jasson Domínguez to third, Boone felt the timing was right. So, Soto pinch hit for center fielder Trent Grisham.
With the count tied at 1-1, Oakland reliever TJ McFarland hit 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 dragged a slider to the right corner. The ball (exit velocity: 110 mph) flew over the left fielder’s head, scoring pinch-runner Oswaldo Cabrera from second base.
Soto advanced to second base and then came on for pinch runner Jon Berti.
“What a great at-bat,” Boone said.
“That was awesome,” catcher Austin Wells said. “I mean, he couldn’t play the whole game? He came on at the end? Just a piece-o’-cake double. No, I’m glad he’s healthy and he did a great job off the bench.”
It reminded me of Soto’s performance nine days earlier, when he hit a ball off his foot, fell to the ground in pain, and then continued to swing, only to hit a long, two-run home run off Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Cole Ragans. The Yankees won the game, 4-3.
Willingness to put his body on the line
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.
Still, Boone said Soto came to him halfway through the game and told him he could hit if the game was on the line.
Soto didn’t have to do that. He could have used the rest of the day to protect his knee — and his postseason availability. The Yankees clinched a playoff spot on Wednesday and maintained their four-game lead in the American League East with eight games remaining.
But Soto wanted to play.
“I know we won and this and that,” he said. “But ultimately the goal is to win the division, and we’re very close. I wasn’t thinking about a day off or anything like that. But we’re also trying to be smart and think about October and not now. So yeah, all the options were going through my head.”
Cole had a simple explanation.
“He loves the moment, man,” Cole said. “He loves it.”
Juan Soto discusses the status of his knee, pinch-hitting, playoff outlook and more. photo.twitter.com/WnpFPVpna2
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 21, 2024
A nod to his teammates and coaching staff
The Yankees dugout exploded after Soto’s double. It was clear how much Soto loves his teammates as he danced and sprayed champagne with them during Wednesday’s celebration of the Yankees clinching a playoff spot.
But on Friday he put it into words.
“These guys are incredible,” he said. “These guys are amazing. I love every single guy that’s here. We’ve been together since day 1 and we show each other love every single day, and it’s just an amazing feeling.”
Soto was also grateful for the work the Yankees’ medical and strength staffs had done on his knee.
“The trainers did a good job getting the swelling down and it felt really good,” he said.
He added: “(The knee) responded pretty well. So throughout the game I felt good. It wasn’t painful or anything after all the work we put in, and then I knew I had a good chance to be an option.”
(Photo: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
