CHICAGO – Juan Soto hit three balls out of Guaranteed Rate Field on Tuesday night.
Soto hit three home runs in the first game of his career, giving the New York Yankees a four-run lead over the miserable Chicago White Sox.
Jake Cousins survived a nervous ninth inning and rescued the Yankees’ tired bullpen, completing a 4-1 victory with the bases loaded.
And Soto was responsible for all four of the Yankees’ runs.
Entering the home stretch of his free-agent walk year – in which a huge payout awaits him – Soto hit three consecutive baskets on Tuesday, starting with a two-run shot in the third inning to left off right-handed starter Jonathan Cannon.
As the first batter of the fifth inning against Cannon, left-swinging Soto hit a ball over the left center field wall.
Soto followed up with another solo hit in the seventh inning, this time to the right side of left-handed reliever Fraser Ellard, and finished the at-bat with an emphatic swing of the bat.
When Soto batted with a runner on first base and one out in the ninth inning and the Yankees leading by three runs, he walked a 3-1 pitch from left-hander Jared Shuster.
In the first inning, Soto was eliminated by a groundout.
Aaron Judge is still looking for his 300th career home run and managed two walks, two singles and a strikeout on Tuesday.
On Sunday afternoon against Texas at Yankee Stadium, Soto hit two home runs, giving him five home runs in his last three games, covering his last ten at-bats.
Last month, rookie Ben Rice became the first Yankee to have a three-home run game this season, at home against the Red Sox.
Soto has already hit 33 home runs this season, two shy of his single-season career high set last year with the San Diego Padres.
When Soto came up to bat after his third home run on Tuesday, he earned a standing ovation from many of the 21,199 South Side fans – and then boos when Shuster let the countdown run out before walking him.
The same groaning was heard when Judge began to walk.
This was a needed boost to the Yankees’ offense, who had hit just 2 of 18 passes with runners in scoring position in the first game of the series on Monday night. The game ended in a 12-2 loss to the White Sox, who had lost 24 of their last 25 games.
