Juan Soto Hits a Homer in His MLB Debut, Nats Rout Padres

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SteemSports Presenter: @theprophet0

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SteemSports Editor: @scottybuckets

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Washington and the Padres were the first two teams to take the field on Monday night, and the first to leave the field. The Nationals dropped the 10 run rule on the Padres, allowing only 2 runs to cross the plate. With the victory, Washington moved up to third place in the standings, currently tied with the Mets in a heavily contested NL East division. Washington is only 3.5 games out of occupying the first place position. San Diego solidified their bottom position in the NL West, as they are 20-29 with a lot of time to play in the MLB season.

Geo Gonzalez pitched 7 innings, strong, throwing the injury-prone threshold 111 pitches. Two runs scored on just two hits, and 3 walks. Five Padres fell on their knees, swinging, as he earned his 5th victory of the year. Commanding the second role in the pitching order with a 2.38 ERA and 5-2 record, Geo couldn’t be asking for much more. Gonzalez will visit the mound when he takes on Justin Bour and the Marlins on Sunday.

Starting pitcher Robbie Erlin gave up 6 runs through 4 innings, on 7 balls put into play. He heightened his ERA into the upper 4 range, and dropped his third game of the season, giving him a 1-3 record. His replacement pitcher in Bryan Mitchell had yet another sub-par performance. Mitchell gave up 3+ runs for his seventh straight appearence.

All rookies who find themselves at the plate for the first time have many fantasies in sight, but few manage to carry out. Juan Soto was an exception to this standard, hitting a 3-run blast in his first ever MLB at-bat in front of his home crowd. Soto, the 19 year-old, has a long MLB career ahead of him and this 2/4 performance with 3 RBI’s and a homer will set the tempo for his future. Mark Reynolds distinctly stood out even over Soto, hitting two homers to deep left. Bryce Harper cracked a double and a homer.

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