Aaron Judge, New York Yankees captain, did not hide his displeasure when some fans at Yankee Stadium chanted for All-Star slugger Juan Soto to replace struggling outfielder Trent Grisham before Grisham hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the sixth inning of New York’s 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday night.
“I wasn’t too happy about it,” Judge remarked after hearing “we want Soto” chanting before Grisham’s at-bat, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. “But I think he made a good point.”
Soto, one of the betting favorites to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award, did not play in the three-game series due to what has been described as forearm irritation. The 25-year-old was expected to come off the bench on Sunday, and he appears to be scheduled to face the Kansas City Royals between Monday and Thursday.
“I’m happy for Grish,” Soto told Heyman after Grisham briefly became a Yankees hero. “We need everyone in the clubhouse. “I am glad he did that.”
Grisham, 27, had a season batting average of.082 when he faced Tyler Glasnow in the sixth inning of Sunday’s game. After his home run, Grisham returned to the batter’s box in the eighth inning to hear “we want Grisham” cheers from the Yankees fans in attendance.
“I liked those, too,” Grisham said of the support he received late in Sunday’s victory, according to the Associated Press.
The Yankees (46-21) can afford to play it safe with Soto until he feels 100 percent. On Monday, the New York Yankees led the American League East by two and a half games over the Baltimore Orioles.
“Soto’s going to heal up and be fine, but, man, Grish is a heck of a ballplayer,” Judge said after the win, according to Jorge Castillo of ESPN. “He showed up tonight in the big moment when we needed him.”
As of late Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Yankees ranked second (+500 odds) among World Series betting favorites, trailing only the Dodgers (+290). While Grisham presumably appreciated Judge’s sentiments, the reality that New York lost two of three games at Los Angeles without Soto may have demonstrated how much the Bronx Bombers will rely on their offseason acquisition this autumn.
