New York Yankees slugger Juan Soto was in utter disbelief Tuesday after he struck out looking in his third at-bat against the Oakland A’s.
The Yankees led the A’s 4-3 in the bottom of the 5th inning at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y.
Soto came up to the plate with two outs and nobody on against A’s starter Paul Blackburn. The 25-year-old outfielder didn’t swing a single time during the seven-pitch at-bat. Blackburn seemingly didn’t throw a single strike based on the strike zone shown on the YES Network broadcast.
Juan Soto didn't see a single strike yet struck out looking pic.twitter.com/XSW5SsnT2c
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 24, 2024
The first called strike was somewhat close. It just barely missed the bottom-right portion of the zone. The second called strike was even further off the plate than the first.
The strikeout pitch was an 83-mph slider that appeared to be below the zone. Soto flipped his bat evidently in frustration over the call.
Juan Soto didn't see a strike during this seven pitch at-bat, and still struck out. pic.twitter.com/5EvnaWhZz4
— Sam Luckini (@SamLuckiniESM) April 24, 2024
The sequence was extra surprising given that Soto is one of the best in the majors at drawing walks. The 3-time All-Star led MLB in bases on balls in each of the last three seasons.
Soto also entered Tuesday’s contest with an outstanding .439 on-base percentage — the best in the American League by a wide margin.
It’s too bad for Soto that he didn’t have Ryan Blakney on Tuesday as his home plate umpire. Blakney recently went viral for a blown call that had left the Kansas City Royals’ announcers speechless.
