OAKLAND, Calif. — Juan Soto’s sliding catch on Thursday cost him a start Friday, but not the entire night.
After being a late scratch to the Yankees’ lineup Friday because of swelling and soreness in his left knee that he slammed against the wall at T-Mobile Park the day before, Soto showed enough improvement to enter the game as a pinch-hitter in the 10th inning.
In a surprise to no one, Soto came through in the dramatic moment, drilling an RBI double the other way that drove in what turned out to be the winning run in the Yankees’ 4-2 victory over the A’s at the Coliseum.
X-rays were negative on Soto’s knee, but he still had some swelling and soreness Friday that, following pregame treatment and exercises, led the Yankees to play it cautious and keep him on the bench at least to start the night.
“Just feel like it’s the best thing to hold him out tonight,” manager Aaron Boone said before the game.
With just over a week left in the regular season, as they try to pin down the AL East and head into October on a high note, the Yankees could ill afford being without Soto for long.
“Not overly [concerned about it long-term],” Boone said. “Even in talking to [director of sports medicine and rehab Mike Schuk], it’s not something he’s concerned with long-term here. Just a day-to-day thing. Hopefully he’s even available tonight in some capacity.”
In hindsight, the Yankees gladly would have taken the ball dropping for a foul — trailing the Mariners 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh — rather than Soto putting his body at risk, especially at this point in the season.
But that is easier said than done for Soto, who also has plenty at stake less than two months away from hitting free agency.
“I feel like it’s just adrenaline of the game,” Soto said Thursday. “We’re trying to keep the game right there on line and go out there and try our best. You mentioned free agency, this and that — when I go in those lines, I forget about everything. I literally just focus on the game. We’re trying to win the game to help the team to do the best.”
Boone also said that Soto may have saved himself from something worse by sliding into the wall.
“More than you know, guys do a good job of knowing how to protect themselves and play smart in certain situations,” Boone said. “I actually think him getting down the way he did protected him a little bit. Obviously he bruised it and he’s out today, but the way he did it actually avoided a bad situation.”
It was all-too-similar to Aaron Judge’s catch at Dodger Stadium last June, which came at a cost as he busted his toe on the unpadded base of the wall.
Judge insisted that night he was fine, but then was out of the lineup the next day and subsequent tests revealed a torn ligament in his toe.
Soto admitted Thursday he was “really worried” about his knee when the play happened, but the pain slowly started to lessen over the final two innings of the game.
Still, there was some concern as the star right fielder said he felt it running and when he tried to swing (his spot in the order did not come up again for an at-bat).
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