OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Juan Soto walked up to manager Aaron Boone in the middle of the game and told him the banged-up left knee that kept him out of the lineup was feeling good enough for the slugger to give the New York Yankees one at-bat if a key moment came.
It did in the 10th inning and Soto delivered with an RBI double that helped the Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics 4-2 on Friday night.
“It was great — showman-like,” starter Gerrit Cole said. “He loves the moment. He loves it.”
Soto had been scratched from the starting lineup after his knee was sore and swollen a day after he hurt it sliding into a concrete wall to make a catch in Seattle.
After getting X-rays early Friday that showed he didn’t have a serious injury, Soto got treatment and spent time before the game in the batting cage and doing squats to make sure his knee was good enough to play.
“It reacted pretty well,” he said. “So throughout the game, I was feeling good. It wasn’t sore or anything after all the work that we put in. That’s when I knew I would have a good chance to be an option.”
His time came in the 10th inning. Boone didn’t want to use Soto to start the inning with the automatic runner on second, figuring the A’s would just walk him in that situation.
But after Anthony Rizzo led off the inning with a single to put runners on the corners, Boone didn’t hesitate.
“Once we got the first and third, I was going to take my shot right there,” he said.
A passed ball by Shea Langeliers let the go-ahead run score and Soto delivered an opposite-field drive for an RBI double that gave the Yankees a 3-1 lead.
It provided a happy ending to a day that started with some concern that wasn’t alleviated until the X-ray cleared Soto.
“It’s always scary,” Soto said. “It’s always part of it. Definitely we hoped for the best. But anything can happen. When I saw that it came back negative, it was really a relief.”
Soto hurt his leg on Thursday in Seattle when he slid into the short wall in foul territory down the right-field line while making a highlight reel catch. He remained in the game but had swelling on Friday.
Boone said before the game that he wasn’t “overly concerned” the injury will linger into the postseason. The Yankees clinched a playoff berth on Wednesday night and lead Baltimore by four games in the AL East with eight games to play.
Soto said he didn’t want to sit out with the division still on the line. He said he might be able to be in the lineup Saturday if his knee is feeling good in the morning.
Soto is blatting .288 with 40 homers and 104 RBIs in his first season with the Yankees. Soto is second in the majors with 125 walks, 285 times on base and a .419 on-base percentage, trailing only teammate Aaron Judge in all three categories. Soto is third in the majors with 120 runs scored.
Soto missed three games in June with left forearm inflammation.
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