Juan Soto, the New York Yankees newest superstar, is amongst the AL-MVP frontrunners this year. While his teammate and captain Aaron Judge is leading the race, Soto is not left much behind. However, in the past week, the generational star’s bat has slowed down.
The New York Yankees, as a unit, haven’t had the best week, as they lost three series on the trot. Moreover, in the recently concluded series finale against the Atlanta Braves, Juan Soto was struck out by pitcher Joe Jimenez. However, the third strike call caused a massive showdown between the slugger and the plate umpire.
Juan Soto Goes Off Against Plate Umpire Over Strange Strike Call
The New York Yankees were trailing 1-3 in the rubber game against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday when Juan Soto was struck out by Joe Jimenez in the bottom of the eighth inning. With Soto at the plate in a high-pressure situation, he requested a timeout on a 1-2 count just as the Braves pitcher was about to deliver his pitch. However, the umpire didn’t grant the timeout to Soto as it was too late, and the pitcher had already taken his stride. But Juan Soto thought his request was granted, and he moved away from the plate as Joe threw a four-seam fastball in the strike zone. The plate umpire deemed it out, leaving the 25-year-old furious. He argued aggressively with the umpire.
Eventually, manager Aaron Boone had to step in and separate Juan Soto to keep tensions from escalating. Juan Soto failed to overturn the call, marking the end of the Yanks’ eighth scoreless inning. That being said, Juan Soto stayed scoreless for the night, and the New York Yankees lost 3-1 to drop the third straight series. Throughout the home series against the Atlanta Braves, the offense had been inconsistent. And the situation against the Baltimore Orioles was similar. Hence, concerns over the team’s offensive ability are bound to rise. With a long half of the season left on the cards, these early lapses will hurt the team eventually when postseason qualification is on the line. Regardless, in the upcoming 2-game series against city rivals, Mets, the Bronx Bombers will try to regain the winning momentum.
Nestor Cortes Affirms Yankees Not Panicking Amid Rough Patch
Nestor Cortes pitched 7 innings start against the Braves on Sunday and allowed 3 runs on 5 hits while striking out 7 hitters as well. However, the Yankees offense didn’t support him which led to a 3-1 loss. That being said, despite third straight series loss, Cortes said the team is not panicking as the clubhouse atmosphere is pretty much the same.
“Nobody’s hanging their heads, nobody’s panicking in here,” Cortes said in the post-game interview. The starting pitcher added that it’s just patch one encounters during the course of a 162-games stretch. He is confident the Yankees will find a way to come out of it and get back to winning ways. Notably, the Bronx Bombers still have te best win-loss record in the MLB i.e 52-28.
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