{"id":2696,"date":"2024-09-21T08:13:04","date_gmt":"2024-09-21T08:13:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.drinkfood.info\/?p=2696"},"modified":"2024-09-21T08:13:04","modified_gmt":"2024-09-21T08:13:04","slug":"juan-soto-delivers-dramatic-double-after-being-late-scratch-from-yankees-lineup-with-knee-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.drinkfood.info\/?p=2696","title":{"rendered":"Juan Soto delivers dramatic double after being late scratch from Yankees\u2019 lineup with knee issue"},"content":{"rendered":"

Juan Soto\u2019s\u00a0sliding catch on Thursday\u00a0cost him a start Friday, but not the entire night.<\/p>\n

After\u00a0being a late scratch\u00a0to the Yankees\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0Yankees\u2019 4-2 victory over the A\u2019s\u00a0at the Coliseum.<\/p>\n

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Juan Soto hits a pinch-hit RBI double scoring Oswaldo Cabrera during the 10th inning of the Yankees\u2019 2-1 win over the A\u2019s on Sept. 20, 2024.Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe tried the knee early before the game,\u201d Soto said. \u201cWe went to the cage, hit a little bit. We tried out the gym, too, we did some squats and stuff. It reacted pretty well.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSo throughout the game I was feeling good, it wasn\u2019t sore or anything after all the work we put in. That\u2019s when I knew I had a good chance to be an option.\u201d<\/p>\n

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X-rays were negative on Soto\u2019s knee, but he still had some swelling and soreness Friday that, following pregame treatment and exercises, led the Yankees to play it cautiously and keep him on the bench, at least to start the night.<\/p>\n

But Soto came to Aaron Boone around mid-game after getting his work in and told his manager that he could be an option for a pinch-hit spot if the Yankees needed it. Boone said he wasn\u2019t going to do it if there was just a man on second in the 10th, figuring the A\u2019s would just walk him, but once the Yankees put runners on the corners, Soto walked out for his big moment.<\/p>\n

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Juan Soto delivered a big hit in the 10th inning of the Yankees\u2019 extra-inning win over the A\u2019s.Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI know we clinched [a playoff spot], but at the end of the day, the goal is to win the division,\u201d Soto said. \u201cWe are really close [to] that. I didn\u2019t think about any day off or anything like that, but we\u2019re trying to be smart too and think about October.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soto appeared to move well in running to second base. He said he had \u201ca little bit of soreness, but not as bad as it was this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether he gets back into the lineup Saturday depends on how he wakes up, he said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNot overly [concerned about it long-term],\u201d Boone said before the game. \u201cEven in talking to [director of sports medicine and rehab Mike Schuk], it\u2019s not something he\u2019s concerned with long-term here. Just a day-to-day thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

In hindsight, the Yankees gladly would have taken the ball dropping for a foul \u2014 trailing the Mariners 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

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Juan Soto crashed into the wall during the Yankees\u2019 3-2 loss to the Mariners on Sept. 19, 2024.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n