By Michael Marzzacco
Follow @marswaggo Follow @onepursuitdc
It feels good to say Matthew and I are back on the baseball grind and boy did we get a good one on Wednesday night. We’ve told you about this Juan Soto kid throughout our minor league reports and from his killer debut last month. In the Nationals 5-4 win over the New York Yankees Tuesday night, Soto homered not once but TWICE!
The game was tied at one after the teams traded a pair of sacrifice flies in the top of the first. Greg Bird put the Yankees ahead in the second with his third home run of the season. The Yankees added to their lead in the third with an RBI single from Giancarlo Stanton to make it 3-1.
The Nationals meanwhile couldn’t get anything going in the second or third inning. As Matt Adams led off with a single and Soto walked on a 3-2 count, Wilmer Difo lined out to Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres. He quick got the ball to shortstop Didi Gregorius to get Adams. Then with Spencer Kieboom at the dish, Yankees starting pitcher Sonny Gray picked off Soto at first to end the inning. In the third, Trea Turner singled but was picked off at first by Gray. Three of the Nationals six outs those two innings came from base running miscues.
Despite those mishaps, things got better in the fourth. Juan Soto blasted a three-run opposite field homer to put the Nats up 4-3. It silenced Nats Twitter and the people freaking out in our mentions (Thank you Juan).
Soto became just the third visiting teenager in the last 50 years to homer at Yankee Stadium joining the likes of Ken Griffey Jr. (May 30, 1989) and Robin Yount (April 27, 1975).
Gleyber Torres homered in the fifth to tie the game. In the seventh, Soto did it again with a home run to the deepest part of the stadium over the bullpen and into the bleachers in right-center field.
More history for Soto: Soto is the fifth youngest player in MLB history to have a multi-home run game.
Justin Miller got the win in relief with another great outing. He has killed it since his callus to the big club. Soto had four strikeouts while allowing just one hit and struck out the side in the sixth inning.
Sean Doolittle shut the door in the ninth for his 17th save of the season.
Notable: Nationals GM Mike Rizzo recorded his 800th win since taking over the Nationals during Spring Training 2009… Soto has reached base safely in 17 of 20 games played this season… The win earned a split in the season series so far… The Nationals are now 8-7 all-time against the Yankees.
Quotable: “That man is the TRUTH” – Anthony Rendon on Juan Soto.
Next: The Nationals have an off day on Thursday before heading to Toronto for a three-game set with the Blue Jays.
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