Juan Soto didn’t have a so-called signature moment in his first playoff series as a Yankee.
There were no late-inning heroics nor game-changing home runs.
But the superstar slugger’s first postseason in pinstripes got off to an excellent start.
Soto, 25, was steady as the Yankees advanced past the Kansas City Royals in four games in the ALDS, delivering a .286 batting average, a .389 on-base percentage and two RBI in a series where offense was tough to come by.
“We did a really good job,” Soto told YES Network after the Yankees won Game 4 in Kansas City on Thursday night. “They have a really good team, and coming through in these games, as tiring as it was, it’s a good feeling.”
The generational talent made key contributions in each of the Yankees’ three wins.
In their 6-5 victory in Game 1, the right fielder went 3-for-5 with a double and threw Salvador Perez out at home plate.
In their 3-2 win in Game 3, Soto walked against All-Star starter Seth Lugo, then came around to score the Yankees’ first run on a Giancarlo Stanton RBI double. An inning later, Soto doubled the Yankees’ lead with a sacrifice fly.
And in their 3-1 triumph in Game 4, Soto gave the Yankees a 1-0 advantage with a first-inning RBI single. In the seventh, with the Yankees clinging to a two-run lead, Soto tracked a Kyle Isbel fly ball calmly caught it with his back to the wall, extinguishing Kansas City’s final scoring threat.
Soto reached base in the first inning in three of the four games and was retired on a 410-foot flyout in the other, putting early pressure on a Kansas City starting staff that ranked second in the majors with a 3.55 ERA in the regular season.
While his statline wasn’t gaudy, Soto provided the kinds of winning plays that have often eluded the Yankees during their 14-year championship drought.
This is exactly why the Yankees got him.
“He’s loving being here and being part of this team and knowing what’s at stake and what he has an opportunity to do,” manager Aaron Boone said during a pre-ALDS workout. “He’s been in playoff baseball before. He’s won a championship before. He obviously knows what it takes.”
In December, the Yankees traded a five-player haul — including fast-rising starting pitcher Michael King — to the San Diego Padres to acquire Soto, knowing full well the impending free agent could end up spending only one season in the Bronx.
Soto lived up to the sky-high hype in the regular season, hitting .288 with a career-high 41 home runs, 109 RBI, a .419 on-base percentage and a .989 OPS.
Soto, who bats second, formed a historically productive pair with No. 3 hitter Aaron Judge, who is expected to win his second American League MVP Award. That dynamic duo led the Yankees to a division crown and the best record in the AL.
But it’s no secret the Yankees acquired Soto with the postseason in mind, and his first act in the ALDS gave a taste of what he’s capable off.
In his second MLB season, Soto led the Washington Nationals to a World Series title in 2019, hitting .333 with a team-high three home runs and seven RBI in the seven-game victory over the Houston Astros. Soto turned 21 during that series.
“In 2019, as a team, we always came through,” Soto said Wednesday before ALDS Game 3. “Definitely, our big stars had big moments, as we all expected, but at the end of the day, it’s all about the whole team. We can’t lean on one player, that he’s going to do everything for us to take us all the way. We’ve got to do it as a team.”
That was the case for the Yankees in the ALDS. While much of the attention went to Stanton — and deservedly so after he hit .375 with four RBI, a 1.132 OPS and the decisive home run in Game 3 — the series could have gone differently without Soto’s consistent contributions.
“When you put that jersey on and those pinstripes, it just feels different,” Soto said Wednesday. “There’s so much history and everything, so many fans all over the world that we have. It’s just incredible. It feels really nice to play for a team like that, that has so many big moments in history.”
The Yankees hope Soto can add more classic moments to their storied history in the ALCS, which begins Monday in the Bronx.
