Juan Soto leads Yankees’ home run party in dramatic return to San Diego
SAN DIEGO — Considering Juan Soto’s flair for the dramatic — not to mention his “generational” talent — was there ever any doubt?
In his first game back at Petco Park since the Padres traded him to the Yankees, Soto crushed a monster home run that set off a three-homer inning on the way to an 8-0 win on Friday night.
Aaron Judge went back-to-back with Soto for the first time before Giancarlo Stanton clobbered a two-run shot two batters later as the Yankees (36-17) went bombs away on Yu Darvish in a five-run third inning.
“To see him come out in a packed house and do his thing, that’s just a normal Friday night for Juan,” Judge said.
Soto, who added a double while going 2-for-4, described the decisive third inning as “electric.”
The trio combined for 1,249 feet of home runs in a matter of minutes, marking the second time all three have homered in the same game.
“Things escalated quick,” Stanton said with a wide grin. “That’s what we’re capable of.”
It was more than enough run support for Carlos Rodon, who quieted the Padres (27-27) with six shutout innings to kick off a 10-day, nine-game West Coast trip in style.
Darvish had entered the game with a 25-inning scoreless streak but the Yankees ambushed him for seven runs across 5 ²/₃ innings, including a fourth home run as Gleyber Torres later went deep in the fourth inning.
But it was Soto, who was met with louder boos than cheers when introduced to the sellout crowd of 43,505, that got the party started.
“It was a thing when he was coming to the plate,” manager Aaron Boone said. “You could feel it in the stadium. It was a great environment. He answered like he usually does.”
Soto was also robbed of extra bases by right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. in the seventh inning.
But his 14th home run of the season, a two-run shot, was the longest of the Yankees’ bunch on Friday, traveling an estimated 423 feet and prompting Tatis Jr. to barely move.
“I think Juan Soto always shows up when the lights are bright,” Rodon said. “Almost to be expected at this point.”
Two pitches later, Judge made it back-to-back, drilling a 409-foot home run to left field. It marked Judge’s third home run in as many games, his 10th in the last 18 games and his 16th of the season to continue a torrid month of May.
Then, after Alex Verdugo sliced a single off the left-field wall, Stanton visited the second deck of the Western Metal Supply Co. building in left field for his 13th home run of the season. The 417-foot blast made it a 6-0 Yankees lead.
Through the Yankees’ first 53 games of the season, Soto, Judge and Stanton have combined for 43 home runs — more than four full teams have hit.
It was exactly the kind of night the Yankees envisioned when they acquired Soto in the December blockbuster, pairing him Judge and Stanton to form a three-headed monster.
It was also the kind of night that Soto felt he didn’t show enough of during his time with the Padres. After batting .265 with a .893 OPS and 41 home runs across 214 games with the organization, Soto was not sure what kind of crowd reaction to expect Friday.
“It’s kind of tough for me because they were right there every day for me,” Soto said before the game. “I tried my best, I played hard every day, but I didn’t play my best. That’s one of the things I was sad about because I couldn’t show them how great I can be. But it is what it is.”
But Soto sent a reminder on Friday, with his fellow sluggers following his lead as the Yankees won for the 16th time in their last 20 games.
“Definitely fun,” Soto said. “It was pretty cool to see the guys coming through against a guy like that [Darvish]. It’s huge.”
