New York Yankees star Juan Soto recorded his sixth home run of the season with a 416-foot blast into center field in the sixth inning of their game against the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday. While the New York lineup has undoubtedly gone through a short slump in recent days, they all seem to have come alive as the outfielder's blast was the third of the night. Despite the doubts in recent days, Soto has once again proven his critics wrong and given the Yankees a 6-3 lead on the evening.
Having started his major league career with the Washington Nationals after signing as an international free agent, Juan Soto has quickly established himself over the past few years. In his second season in Washington, he helped them to the World Series title and has consistently been one of the nest players in the league since then.
Soto's arrival at the Bronx had huge anticipaiton behind it and the slugger lived up to all expectations since then. He has taken huge pressure off Aaron Judge's shoulders and started his Yankees career in hot form. Just when doubts were beginning to emerge about the lineup, they have stepped up and delivered.
Aaron Judge got the Yankees on the board with the homer in the first before Anthony Volpe and Soto contributed run-scoring hits in the second. Anthony Rizzo then hit a home run of his own before Soto added his blast in the sixth. Alex Verdugo's sacrifice fly in the seventh sealed the 7-3 win for the Yankees.
Yankees GM speaks out on Juan Soto's amazing start to the campaign
New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman spoke to the media recently and covered several topics, including Juan Soto's electric start to life in pinstripes. While Cashman confirmed that there have been no extension talks yet, he had nothing but praise for the slugger:
“He’s one of a kind... His personality fits the team. It’s been a good run. He has helped us hit that win column quite often, thankfully."