TORONTO — The Yankees delayed announcing their lineup on Sunday in hopes that Juan Soto would be able to play in their series finale against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, two days after injuring his right hand on a slide into home plate.
The club issued an initial lineup without Soto, then surprised everyone minutes before the first pitch by announcing a new batting order with Soto batting second and playing right field. Soto hit a 106.5 mph single in his first at-bat, then scored on Aaron Judge’s 31st homer of the season.
The one thing I don’t want him doing is compromising his swing,” manager Aaron Boone said before the game. “If it’s something where he’s just feeling some soreness, we’ll certainly wait on that. We know how important he is to our lineup
As he spoke with reporters on Sunday morning, Soto recounted how he had already sought treatment on his throbbing right hand when he stepped to home plate in the sixth inning on Friday evening, having injured it during a slide two innings earlier.
Given the conditions, how did Soto hit a three-run homer off left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, giving the Yankees a 16-5 victory over the Blue Jays? “Just forget about the hand and focus on the pitcher. That’s what you need to do,” Soto stated on Sunday. “When you’re in there and your blood is pumping and everything is moving, you lose track of everything. You just want to play and win the game for your squad.”
Soto played the rest of the game, but he complained soreness and weakness during batting practice on Saturday, forcing the Yankees to remove him from the lineup about 20 minutes before the scheduled first pitch. X-rays taken at the Rogers Centre were negative. “It was a big pain in my hand,” Soto added. “Every time I swung, it felt weaker. It was simply a different feeling. I could not even hold the bat. I kept swinging and modifying my swing, so I had to quit because I couldn’t do it anymore.” Juan Soto rushes home from second amid a rundown.
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