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New York Yankees' Juan Soto Extends Odd Home Run Streak to Make MLB History

Juan Soto blasted a two-run homer early on in the New York Yankees' win over the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday, giving him a home run on eight consecutive hits.

Sam Connon

Aug 21, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Juan Soto (22) celebrates in the dugout after hitting a two run home run in the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium.
Aug 21, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Juan Soto (22) celebrates in the dugout after hitting a two run home run in the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium. / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
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Even though Juan Soto hasn't exactly been racking up hits as of late, he has still made sure to do plenty of damage at the plate.

Soto went 2-for-3 in the New York Yankees' 8-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday. He opened things up with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first, drew a walk in the third and then slapped a three-RBI double down the third base line in the fourth.

Prior to his double, Soto had recorded eight hits over a nine-game span. All eight of those hits were home runs.

According to OptaSTATS, Soto is now one of three American League players in the last 50 seasons to have eight straight hits be home runs. Albert Belle and Marcus Thames each did the same in 1995 and 2008, respectively.

The last player to accomplish the same streak in the National League is the recently-retired Joey Votto, who did so with the Cincinnati Reds in July 2021.

MLB.com's Sarah Langs added that Soto is the first player in Yankees history to achieve the feat.

The eight home runs and 10 walks Soto has recorded up over his last nine games also mark the third time a Yankees player has ever posted that stat line in that amount of time, according to Sports References' Katie Sharp. Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth are the others.

Soto is now batting .302 with 36 home runs, 93 RBI, a 1.045 OPS and 7.6 WAR on the season. The former Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres star, who also leads the league in walks, was named an All-Star for the fourth time in his career earlier this summer.

If Soto hits four more home runs before the end of 2024, he will become the eighth player in MLB history to record 200 home runs prior to his 26th birthday, per Langs.

It's been quite the successful campaign for the pending free agent, teaming up with Aaron Judge to make history seemingly every other night. Their combined presence at the top of the lineup has the Yankees leading the AL East at 74-53, and FanGraphs is giving them an AL-best 15.7% chance of winning the World Series.

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Sam Connon

SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a Staff Writer for Fastball on the Sports Illustrated/FanNation networks. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's All Bruins, 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' Bruin Blitz, the Bleav Podcast Network and the Daily Bruin, with his work as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk.