“I was just pushing my teammates” - Juan Soto opens up on tough loss as Yankees fail to sweep Royals
Juan Soto and the New York Yankees lost Thursday’s game 4-3 against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. After winning the first three games of the four-game series with the Royals, the Yankees missed the opportunity to sweep them.
Soto went 2-for-4 with no runs and one RBI, striking out once. The Yankees offense remained scoreless for seven innings, managing only five hits on 31 at-bats throughout the night.
Discussing the team's performance, Soto said:
“I was just pushing my teammates and telling them like we all tried to win. Definitely I wanted to be up… Great job trying to bring that run in and try to put me in the inning too. So yeah I was excited for that about.”
(from 0:09 mark onward)
In the fourth inning, Soto grounded out but thought the catcher interfered with his swing. He believed the catcher's mitt got in the way of his check swing, and the replay suggested there might have been some contact.
However, the Yankees couldn't challenge the play because they had already used and lost their one challenge earlier in the game. This meant it was up to the umpire to make the call. Since the home plate umpire didn't see any interference, the pitch was ruled a ball.
Discussing the incident, Soto said:
(from 0:58 mark onward)
“I feel a glove, I didn’t feel the ball. That’s why I asked, But they say we don’t have any challenge but it is what it is. Stuff happens I mean and then I realized the ball went towards the dugout so it’s kind of close to see it, if it was a foul ball as a catching interference. So that was kind of in the middle.”
Juan Soto discusses Alec Marsh’s performance and breaking up his no-hitter streak
Kansas City Royals pitcher Alec Marsh threw six hitless innings facing the Yankees' batters before Soto broke the streak in the seventh. Marsh recorded seven strikeouts, allowing only one hit and two walks over seven innings he pitched.
Discussing his performance, Soto said:
(from 0:35 mark onward)
“I mean he was throwing the ball well. He was painting corners and everything. So I think he did a pretty good job keeping the ball low and keeping guys off balance. At the end of the day, he hunked me one and I did my job.”
The Yankees (49-22) lead the AL East while the Royals (40-30) are currently placed second in the AL Central. The Bronx Bombers face the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Friday to open their three-game series.
The Royals travel to LA to take on the LA Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium in their three-game series.