Juan Soto clears the air on two costly on-field gaffes in Yankees’ loss
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Follow UsThe Yankees fell to the Cardinals in a lopsided 14-7 loss on Sunday afternoon, with two crucial plays in right field spotlighting Juan Soto’s defensive struggles. Soto misplayed two catchable balls, which allowed St. Louis to seize an early lead and build momentum later in the game.
While the final score reflected a blowout and numerous factors contributed to the defeat, Juan Soto’s missed plays proved costly. The first mishap occurred on the opening pitch of the second inning when Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan hit a high fly ball to right. Juan Soto initially broke inward, misjudging the depth of the hit, and by the time he corrected course, he lost track of the ball as it dropped near the wall. Donovan turned the miscue into a double and later scored on a single by right fielder Jordan Walker, who went on to tally five hits in the game.
Juan Soto admitted he initially read Donovan’s hit as an infield pop-up but noted that wind conditions pushed the ball further back than expected. “I saw it well off the bat,” the Yankees slugger said, explaining how the swirling winds played a role in his misjudgment.
“When he hit it, I thought it was going to be a high popup in the infield,” he said, “but the ball took off with the wind helping a little bit, pushing the ball even further to the wall. It ended up out of my reach.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone pointed to the difficult sky conditions that day, with stormy weather complicating the outfielders’ ability to track fly balls. Despite the factors at play, Juan Soto insisted that he had the ball in his sights the entire time but simply misread its trajectory.
Juan Soto’s second error costs Yankees the game
The Yankees staged a dramatic comeback to erase a 7-2 deficit, tying the game in the sixth inning, but their rally quickly unraveled as the Cardinals regained control in the seventh. With two outs and the bases loaded, Lars Nootbaar, batting eighth, launched a deep line drive to right field.
Juan Soto appeared to have a bead on the ball, tracking it as he moved back. However, he failed to position himself correctly, reaching out as the ball glanced off the wall for a bases-clearing double. This critical play allowed the Cardinals to recapture the lead, which they expanded with two more runs in the inning.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone initially thought Nootbaar’s hit was out of Juan Soto’s range. He acknowledged that Nootbaar had squared up a low changeup from reliever Tommy Kahnle, sending it deep into right field.
Juan Soto later described the play succinctly, noting that Nootbaar’s line drive had heavy backspin, causing it to carry over his head. Observers noted the outfielder’s delayed reaction to the ball, taking a winding route to his target.
“He just hit a line drive,” he said. “He got good back spin. It went over my head.”
Positioned shallow before the hit, Juan Soto might have been preparing to make a potential throw to the plate on a shorter hit, underestimating Nootbaar’s power despite the outfielder’s later home run off Ron Marinaccio.
Victor Scott II followed with a run-scoring double over Juan Soto’s head, though that play presented a more difficult challenge to the field. Unable to respond offensively, the Yankees were ultimately undone by Nootbaar’s three-run double, a decisive moment that sealed the game in favor of the Cardinals.
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He is an Average Fielder.Dies NOT go back on balls well. Would be better served especially at Yankee Stadium to play deep and come in on the ball
Absolutely 100% Kevin! The Manager needs to stop making excuses for this stuff and start holding all players accountable like he did a few weeks ago with Torres and it has worked out great
I don’t see Soto as a plus defender. That plus the fact he appears to have mini slumps doesn’t add up to a $600 million contract.