Soto keeps hitting, Ross keeps dealing

ST. LOUIS — At Busch Stadium, the show begins with a few light boos echoing through a sunny and crisp afternoon. Juan Soto can’t just walk to the plate without hearing something. Plus, it’s best to get a word in before he swings.

It took a few of those cuts — from behind his left ear to above his right shoulder — for Soto to nudge the Washington Nationals toward a 6-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday. He is 22 years old and, as he was in 2020, and as he was throughout 2019 and 2018, a walking definition of appointment viewing. But he didn’t stand out with a long homer or deafening contact in the finale of this threegame series.

Instead, across five at-bats, he tapped a full-count infield single and scored in the third; poked another to center in the fifth that brought Trea Turner in on an error; and crossed home again later that inning, grinning his way to the dugout. Then he tacked on an RBI by legging out a fielder’s choice in the sixth.

That connected him to three of the runs that supported Joe Ross, who yielded four hits and struck out five in six scoreless innings (giving him 11 scoreless to start the year). And it all helped Washington (3-6) win its first series.

“I just tried to touch the ball, forget about everything else,” Soto said of facing Cardinals veteran Adam Wainwright. “I know there’s a great pitcher on the mound, he has amazing pitches. I don’t try to do too much. Just put the ball in play.”