Teen power: Soto hits two homers for Nats
19-year-old rookie drives in four in win
NEW YORK — Teenage rookie Juan Soto homered twice and drove in four runs, becoming the youngest player in 29 years to go deep in a regular-season game at Yankee Stadium, and the Washington Nationals beat New York 5-4 on Wednesday.
After getting a game off Tuesday, his first in three-plus weeks as a major leaguer, a refreshed Soto showed exactly why he was rated one of baseball’s best prospects.
The 19-year-old outfielder lofted a three-run homer into the left-field corner off Sonny Gray in the fourth inning to give Washington, shut out in its previous two games, a 4-3 lead. Soto then launched a titanic shot to right-center in the seventh against Chasen Shreve (2-1), putting the Nationals back in front 5-4.
Projected at 436 feet, the drive soared to the back of a standing-room terrace above and beyond the Yankees’ bullpen in right-center. It also ended a 23-inning shutout streak for New York relievers and made Soto (19 years, 231 days old) the youngest player in Nationals history to have a multihomer game.
Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. was 19 years, 190 days old when he homered — also twice — for Seattle at old Yankee Stadium on May
30, 1989. Andruw Jones was 19 as well when he hit two home runs for Atlanta in Game 1 of the 1996 World Series at Yankee Stadium.
Called up from Double-a Harrisburg on May 20, Soto is batting .344 with five homers and 12 RBIS.
New York got a long home run from its own impressive rookie, 21-year-old Gleyber Torres, to tie it at 4 in the fifth. Greg Bird also hit a solo homer and Giancarlo Stanton had three hits for the Yankees, including a two-out RBI single that glanced off the glove of third baseman Anthony Rendon.
Adam Eaton and Matt Adams had three hits apiece for the Nationals, who split the two-game interleague series between World Series contenders. The teams meet again next Monday in Washington to complete a May 15 matchup suspended with the score tied 3-all in the sixth inning and to make up a May 16 rainout.
Justin Miller (4-0) struck out four in 1 2/3 innings to earn the win on his 31st birthday. Sammy Solis knocked down Brett Gardner’s comebacker with a runner on third for the final out of the seventh. Ryan Madson pitched out of trouble in the eighth and Sean Doolittle worked a perfect ninth for his 17th save in 18 chances.
New York lost for only the fifth time in its last 23 home games.