WASHINGTON — Back in his first big league home game Tuesday afternoon, Juan Soto got to Nationals Park early so he could catch up with some of his former teammates and coaches. They all kind of reminisce. Soto also has a message for them.
“When it’s game time, I play for the team that’s on my chest,” he said. “So I don’t care [ties to the Nationals] then, I told them.
“I told them: ‘I’m going to hit a homer against them.'”
And Juan Soto is a man of his word.
Or as Padres manager Bob Melvin said: “He’s just good.”
This isn’t the first time Soto has returned to Nationals Park since the blockbuster deal that brought him to San Diego at the Trade Deadline last summer. But it was clearly a significant reunion.
Before the game, Soto spoke fondly of his time in DC, where he won the 2019 World Series and earned a batting title, three Silver Sluggers and two All-Star appearances. Before his first at-bat, Soto received a standing ovation from the Nationals Park crowd. He came out to raise his helmet to the fans, and the ovation grew louder.
“That’s where it all started,” Soto said. “That’s where my dreams started. It feels good to be in that box, even if I’m on a different team.”
Soto immediately reminded the fans what they were missing. Swinging the first pitch, he lined a 113.8-mph single off left-hander MacKenzie Gore — a former top Padres prospect and one of the players Soto was traded for.
Soto’s seventh-inning homer off Erasmo Ramírez was the 50th of his career at Nationals Park — but his first as a visitor. He readily admitted his emotions Tuesday were different than they were in August when he played for the Padres at Nationals Park for the first time.
“Definitely last year was a little more emotional,” Soto said. “This year was emotional, but it was more, like, happy. I’m happier instead of being sad about being traded or whatever. I’m more excited to go out there, play for those fans.”
He also put on a show. Soto’s homer left his bat with an exit velocity of 113.1 mph. Along with his first-inning single, it marked the first time he hit two batted balls at 113 mph or harder in the same game.
“He’s a smart guy,” said Ramírez, Soto’s teammate last year. “He knows who’s pitching. So he will work depending on what you throw at him. And every time he sees a mistake, he will just do what he just did to me.”
After he rounded the bases and before he stepped on home plate, Soto looked into the Nationals’ dugout and grinned. Later, he revealed that he was specifically looking for coach Henry Blanco, who was close to Soto during his time in DC
It was Blanco, specifically, on whom Soto called his shot.
“[Blanco] asked me if I wanted to bunt,” Soto said. “I told him ‘No.’ … I told him I was going to hit a homer and check on him.”
Soto’s blast gave San Diego a 5-3 lead, and after an Xander Bogaerts single, Jake Cronenworth broke the game open with a two-run shot. The Nationals rallied to tie the game with a three-run fifth-inning rally that included a two-run home run from shortstop CJ Abrams — also part of the Soto trade.
The Padres responded quickly — the kind of response they haven’t received often in their struggles over the past few weeks.
“It’s great,” Cronenworth said. “It’s the first time we’ve done that in a while.”
The Padres still haven’t solved their RISP problem; they went 0-for-9 with men in scoring position. But they have now scored seven runs in consecutive games, despite going 1-for-19 with RISP in that span.
Of course, they hit four homers on Tuesday, which helps. In addition to Soto and Cronenworth, Bogaerts and Brandon Dixon have also been deep.
Then again, only one of those four Padres home runs drew applause from the fans in Washington. Those fans will never forget Soto’s exploits here.
“A lot of wins, a championship — I mean, a lot of great memories,” Soto said.
And he insists on making new ones.
