New York Yankees slugger Juan Soto was a late scratch from Saturday’s lineup against the Toronto Blue Jays (GameTracker) with a bruised right hand, the team announced. He will undergo imaging later Saturday.
Soto suffered the injury sliding into home in the fourth inning of Friday’s win (NY 16, TOR 5). His hand came down on the plate hard and he was seen in the dugout grimacing and shaking it out later in the inning. Soto did remain in the game and hit a long three-run home run in the sixth inning.
Here’s the play when Soto suffered the injury:
Needless to say, losing Soto for any length of time would be a devastating blow to a Yankees team that, despite Friday’s blowout win, has lost seven of their last nine games and 12 of their last 20 games. Soto is on the short list of the game’s best hitters and is impossible to replace. He’s hitting .302/.434/.570 with 20 homers and leads MLB in on-base percentage.
The Yankees are already without Anthony Rizzo (broken hand) and Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring strain), both of whom will be out several more weeks. Prior to Saturday’s outburst, the Yankees had scored two runs or fewer in four of their last six games. Soto and Aaron Judge are two of the very best hitters in the sport, but they are only two men.
This is Soto’s second injury scare of June. He missed three games with left forearm inflammation from June 7-9, though tests showed no structural damage. Soto did not receive an injection or anything beyond medication and normal treatment.
Despite their recent skid, the Yankees are 53-31 and percentage points behind the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East. They have baseball’s fourth highest winning percentage.
