Yankees’ Juan Soto speaks out about Chris Sale after loss to Braves

New York Yankees slugger Juan Soto is honest about his game against Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves. Sale and Atlanta held off the Bronx Bombers on just one run on Friday in an 8-1 win. Soto was 0-for-4 in the game.

“He’s a great pitcher and he made great throws tonight,” Soto said. The Yankees outfielder also praised Sale for keeping batters off balance with his throws.

The Yankees are struggling. The team has lost five of its last six games and has been blown out of the last two. New York has allowed an incredible 32 runs in its last three games alone. This is a drastic turnaround for the club, which reached 50 wins faster than any other MLB team this season.

It’s baffling that the Yankees haven’t had solid pitchers in recent games. According to MLB stats, New York had the best ERA in baseball of any team in mid-June. That seems completely destroyed as the team hasn’t found a solid pitcher to rely on lately. The Yankees allowed 17 runs to the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday in what was arguably their worst loss of the season.

Injuries have also rocked the team. Soto was out injured for a while, then Anthony Rizzo was out with a broken wrist. Even Aaron Judge was injured. New York is currently looking for answers as the team quickly climbs to near second place in the American League East. New York has a 51-27 record, putting it half a game ahead of Baltimore.

Juan Soto’s performance against Braves

One of the reasons New York has done so well this year is Soto. The outfielder has a .304 batting average this year, with 18 home runs and 56 RBIs. Soto, however, is in a slump. He has only one hit in his last five games. Soto’s problems are also the Yankees. New York has managed just one win in those last five games. Soto hasn’t hit a home run since June 15. He’s also only hit that one home run since June 2.

Soto’s slump continued on Friday against Sale. The Braves pitcher pitched spectacularly, allowing just one run on one hit in five innings. Sale also had eight strikeouts and swatted away Yankees batters like flies. Soto struck out three times in the game to contribute to those stats.

During one of the strikeouts, Soto was caught looking at a slider from Sale in the fourth inning. The Yankee batter argued with the umpire over the call, and that didn’t sit well with Braves color analyst Darren O’Day. O’Day harshly criticized Soto for his comments to the home plate umpire.

“Good pitch,” O’Day said, according to Awful Announcing. “God, it makes me mad to see Juan Soto complaining to the umpire. It’s definitely a perfectly executed slider down and away. Go back in the dugout, watch it on the iPad, and you’ve got a strikeout, fair and square. It’s the same strike zone for you. I’m done.”

The Yankees are back in action on Saturday, against the Braves. First pitch is at 7:15 a.m. Eastern Time. New York could certainly use a win, and Soto could use a great batting performance.