Yankees' Superstar Juan Soto Bashes Three Home Runs

The 25-year-old phenom recorded the first "hat trick" of his career.

Aug 13, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) celebrates as he crosses home plate after hitting a solo home run against the Chicago White Sox during the seventh inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Tuesday night in Chicago was the Juan Soto show.

As the New York Yankees defeated the Chicago White Sox, 4-1, Soto drove in all four of the team's runs, with all of them coming on three swings of the bat.

The 25-year-old right fielder was retired in the first inning on a groundout, but would set the tone for the rest of the evening in his next at-bat. Facing right-hander Jonathan Cannon with Alex Verdugo on first base, Soto caught hold of a sinker over the heart of the plate and muscled it the other way into the left field bullpen; the Bronx Bombers had a 2-0 lead, and had all the runs they needed.

Soto sends it out 💪 pic.twitter.com/d8R10tcgTB

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 14, 2024

But Soto wasn't done. In fact, he was just getting started.

Batting against Cannon again in the fifth inning, Soto once again demonstrated his uncanny power to all fields. After working himself into a 3-1 hitter's count, the left-handed slugger got a cutter on the outer half of the plate and walloped it deep into the left-center field seats. It was Soto's second multi-homer game of the week, after hitting a pair of homers on Sunday.

Another Juan 💥 pic.twitter.com/d1DSWZu70f

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 14, 2024

Yet, Soto still wasn't finished. His next at-bat came in the seventh inning against southpaw Fraser Ellard; with a full count, the Dominican phenom committed a lefty-lefty crime by squaring up a fastball up-and-in and blasting a solo shot to right field. It was the first time that Soto had hit three home runs in a single game, with seven major league seasons under his belt.

The Generational.

The 1st 3-Homer Game for @JuanSoto25_ 🙌 pic.twitter.com/COTRsBMRTE

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 14, 2024

Soto even had an opportunity to become just the second Yankee ever to hit four home runs in a game (Lou Gehrig was the first, accomplishing the rare feat on June 3, 1932) when he came to bat in the ninth inning. But much to the crowd's dismay, White Sox hurler Jared Schuster didn't give him anything close to the strike zone and walked him on five pitches; the southpaw also walked Aaron Judge, who was looking to hit his 300th career home run, amid more boos from the pro-Yankee crowd.

After the Bronx Bombers secured the victory, Soto was interviewed by YES Network clubhouse reporter Meredith Marakovits, who was quick to note the slugger's swing adjustments in the batting cages prior to the game.

"I've been working on being more accurate with my barrel, put it on the ball and see what happens," Soto said. "Every time I hit the ball [the other] way, I feel like that's my strength."

Juan Soto made some adjustments to his swing ahead of tonight's game, and they paid off in a big way. The slugger discussed his monster night at the plate with @M_Marakovits. #YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/VXcrHMPvbg

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 14, 2024

While the pregame tune-up appeared to help, Soto's first career three-homer game exemplified all of his strengths as a hitter; his combination of consistently working into advantageous counts, picking out pitches that he can do damage with, and driving the ball to any part of the field have made his at-bats among the most exciting in the sport.

Thanks to Soto's heroics, the Yankees claimed first place of the AL East outright with their victory; they now lead the Baltimore Orioles by half a game.