If the Nationals’ 19-year-old phenom Juan Soto has proven anything in his month or so in the majors, it’s that he and the spotlight are close friends.
In his first at-bat of his first start, Soto launched a three-run home run on the first pitch he saw. He’s been nearly unstoppable since, hitting to the tune of 0.7 fWAR and a .344 average.
If Yankee Stadium is anything, it’s baseball’s biggest stage before the postseason — the location, the history, the atmosphere, and—in years like these—the team, are unmatched in many ways.
Adding even more to the pressure of the game between the Nationals and the Yankees was its relevance to the NL East standings; the Nats had gone scoreless the previous two games, and the Braves continued to show no sign of slowing down.