Even though Juan Soto hasn’t been able to land many hits lately, he has still made sure to do a lot of damage at the plate.
Soto went 2-of-3 in the New York Yankees’ 8-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday. He opened the game with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, walked in the third and then hit a three-RBI double down the third base line in the fourth inning.
Before his double, Soto had eight hits in nine games. All eight of those hits were home runs.
This is a new career highlight for Juan Soto!
He hits his 36th home run of the season 🔥 pic.twitter.com/lApxU85XUR
— MLB (@MLB) 21 August 2024
According to OptaSTATS, Soto is now one of three American League players to have hit eight consecutive home runs in the last 50 seasons, with Albert Belle and Marcus Thames doing the same in 1995 and 2008, respectively.
The last player to complete a similar streak in the National League is the recently retired Joey Votto, who did so with the Cincinnati Reds in July 2021.
Sarah Langs of MLB.com added that Soto was the first player in Yankees history to accomplish this feat.
The @Yankees“Juan Soto is one of three AL players in the last 50 seasons whose eight consecutive hits were home runs.”
The other two are Marcus Thames (2008) and Albert Belle (1995). pic.twitter.com/VXAOiV6tPB
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) 22 August 2024
The eight home runs and 10 walks Soto has hit in his last nine games also mark the third time a Yankees player has achieved that stat in such a short period of time, according to Katie Sharp of Sports References. Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth are the others.
Soto currently has a .302 batting average with 36 home runs, 93 RBI, a 1.045 OPS and a 7.6 WAR this season. The former Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres star, who also leads the league in walks, was named an All-Star for the fourth time in his career earlier this summer.
If Soto hits four more home runs by the end of 2024, he will be the eighth player in MLB history to hit 200 home runs before his 26th birthday, according to Langs.
It’s been quite a successful season for the soon-to-be free agent, who teamed up with Aaron Judge to make history seemingly every other night. Their combined presence at the top of the lineup has propelled the Yankees to the top of the AL East at 74-53, and FanGraphs gives them an AL-best 15.7% chance of winning the World Series.
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