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BiggerJuan Soto, fourth youngest to hit home run in the World Series
Juan Soto won’t turn 21 until Friday.
But the Washington Nationals left fielder already has plenty of reasons to celebrate.
Making his World Series debut on Tuesday night, Soto looked anything but too young for baseball’s biggest stage. In what proved to be a 5-4 Nationals win over the Houston Astros, the left-handed hitter recorded a hit in three of his first four at-bats, including a solo home run in the top of the 4th inning, which helped erase what was initially a 2-0 Houston lead.
Soto’s home run made him the second-youngest player to go yard in his World Series debut and the youngest since Atlanta Braves outfielder Andruw Jones did so at 19-years-old in the 1996 Fall Classic. Soto is now the fourth-youngest player to hit a home run in any World Series game, trailing only Jones, Miguel Cabrera, and Mickey Mantle.
The Dominican Republic native wasn’t done there, as an inning later he’d hit a 3-RBI double to push Washington’s lead to 5-2. In the eighth inning, he’d add to his impressive stat line with a single off of Will Harris before proceeding to reach second base on a steal.
Washington Nationals’ Juan Soto rounds the bases after a home run off Houston Astros starting pitcher Gerrit Cole during the fourth inning of Game 1 of the baseball World Series Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019, in Houston. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Soto’s final stat line for his World Series debut: 3-for-4, one home run, one double, one steal, three RBIs. In what possesses the potential to be a history-making World Series, the Nationals’ youngest star appears to be on the right track.
