Fastball

Juan Soto Sets Incredible Historic Mark as New York Yankees Take Game 1 of ALCS

The Yankees are out to a 1-0 lead in the ALCS and Juan Soto is a big reason why.

Brady Farkas

New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) hits a solo home run during the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians in game one of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium on Oct 14.
New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) hits a solo home run during the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians in game one of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium on Oct 14. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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The New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Guardians 5-2 on Monday night to take a 1-0 lead in the American League Championship Series.

The Yankees are now just three wins away from advancing back to the World Series, which they haven't won since 2009. Cleveland is three losses away from seeing its season end.

New York got a dominant performance on the mound from left-hander Carlos Rodon but they also utilized the long ball in the win: Both Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton hit solo home runs to aid the offense.

Soto's blast came in the bottom of the third inning and gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead at the time. He went 2-for-3 with a walk for the night and is hitting .353 for these playoffs.

His home run also set an incredible mark in baseball history, per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

at 25 years & 355 days, Juan Soto is the youngest player at the time of his first HR in the postseason with a 3rd team

surpassing: 2020 Manny Machado - 28y, 87d

h/t @EliasSports

Soto is just a rare player. Because he came up at the age of 19, he's already been in the league for seven years now. This longevity at such a young age has allowed him the opportunity to have moved around quite a bit early on as he's played for the Washington Nationals, San Diego Padres and Yankees. Machado accomplished his feat with the Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers and Padres.

Soto is likely to finish in the top three of American league MVP voting this year. In his first year in New York, he hit .288 with 41 homers and 109 RBI.

He'll be a free agent at the end of the year.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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