Juan Soto delivers in the clutch again as Yankees secure 4-game sweep of Astros to open season
HOUSTON – Juan Soto couldn’t help but laugh on Saturday night. The superstar, fresh off his third game as a Yankee, had just provided the go-ahead run in a 5-3 win over the Astros by shooting a solo homer into the Crawford Boxes at Minute Maid Park. Having already contributed a game-saving throw on Opening Day and a three-hit night in Game 2, Soto took a second to bask in his success after a few days of being booed by fans of the Yankees’ nemesis.
“It’s fun,” a smiling Soto said of hitting in the Astros’ home. The 25-year-old continued to enjoy himself on Sunday, collecting three singles in the series finale. The last, shot the other way off ex-Padres teammate Josh Hader, drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning. “We all know what he likes and how good he is,” Soto said of Hader, a fire-balling southpaw who presents a nightmare matchup for most left-handed batters. “But definitely when you’re in there, there’s no mercy. I know and I like you. You were my teammate, but when we’re in there, there’s no friends no more.” With Soto at the center of the action once again, the Yankees won, 4-3, and opened their season by sweeping their rivals over four games. “I always want to be up in that situation,” Soto said. “That’s what we play for. We all know there’s gonna be times that we do fail and sometimes you’re gonna have success. But I always want to be up there. I don’t mind to be up there and get all the boos or all the claps. I’m always ready for it.”
Before Soto’s latest heroics, the Yankees started the scoring in the second inning when a Jose Trevino bloop single plated Giancarlo Stanton, who had previously doubled. A two-bagger from Anthony Rizzo then set Jon Berti up
for an RBI single in the fourth frame. Berti, acquired from the Marlins the day before Opening Day, was a late addition to the lineup after Anthony Volpe was scratched with an upset stomach. Aaron Judge, who has gotten off to a slow start this season, added a sac fly in the fifth. The Astros first crossed the plate in the third inning when Jose Altuve hit a solo shot off Clarke Schmidt. Kyle Tucker later knocked the right-hander out of the game with an RBI double
down the right-field line in the sixth. Jonathan Loáisiga took over for Schmidt, but the starter was charged with another run when Yainer Diaz picked up an RBI single against the reliever.
