If you thought Juan Soto’s first regular-season game with the Yankees was terrific, make room for his pinstriped playoff debut.
Soto collected three hits and threw out a runner at home plate Saturday as the Yankees beat the Royals, 6-5, in Game 1 of the ALDS in The Bronx.
Not long after receiving a loud ovation during pregame roster warm-ups — fans aren’t going to miss a chance to re-court the 25-year-old soon-to-be free agent at this point — Soto doubled down the left-field line in the first inning.
When the Yankees failed to score after putting runners on second and third with no outs, Soto kept the game scoreless by cutting down Salvador Perez at home plate.
It was a big moment to steady shaky ace Gerrit Cole because the first six hitters to put the ball in play all hit shots of at least 99.2 miles per hour off the bat.
There were shades of when Soto threw out the would-be tying run in the ninth inning against the Astros on Opening Day.
He also had an RBI single that started the season-opening comeback to turn a 4-0 deficit into a 5-4 win.
It also was a forecast for an incredible regular season during which Soto led the American League in runs scored (128) and smashed his career high for home runs (41) while collecting 109 RBIs. Massive free-agent payday all but sealed.
“I’m not thinking of the free agency part of it. I don’t think he is,” manager Aaron Boone said before the series began. “I think he’s loving being here and being part of this team, knowing what’s at stake and what he has an opportunity to do. He’s been in playoff baseball before. He’s won a championship before. He obviously knows what it takes.”
Soto didn’t score a run or drive one in Saturday, but he was in the middle of two scoring rallies.
Soto singled in the fifth when the Yankees tied the score and took a 4-3 lead on a pair of bases-loaded walks.
He later backed Alex Verdugo’s sixth-inning leadoff walk with a single that moved Verdugo into scoring position for Austin Wells to deliver the two-out RBI single that tied the score at 5-5.
It’s no surprise to see Soto coming up big in the postseason.
One of the reasons the blockbuster offseason trade for him was a no-brainer — even in the scary proposition where he is a one-year rental — was Soto’s playoff pedigree.
He had a 1.178 OPS as a 21-year-old in the seven-game 2019 World Series won by his Nationals.
Soto’s three-hit night was of even greater significance because the other half of the most productive Yankees duo since Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris was quiet.
Aaron Judge, who has had too many quiet playoff runs, started this series by going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and a run scored.
