NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani’s dog may be named Decoy, but the real decoy on Friday night was Juan Soto.
The supersonic slugger was sidelined after discomfort in his left forearm caused him to miss Thursday night’s game against Minnesota. For 16 hours, players in Yankeeland were sweating and biting their nails, but the worst never came to pass. Imaging tests revealed that Soto’s pain was simply inflammation, not structural damage. The team, the fans and Soto breathed a collective sigh of relief. Still, Yankees manager Aaron Boone decided a day of rest might not be the worst idea.
And the most anticipated matchup of the regular season, a potential World Series prelude, was played without one of its biggest stars.
The Yankees and Dodgers went 10 scoreless innings against a mismatched starting pitching pairing on paper: the Dodgers’ $325 million ace pitcher, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and a gentleman named “Cody Poteet” who was brought in at short notice due to a string of unfortunate injuries for the Yankees. Yamamoto was dominant, Poteet was cautious, but the result was the same: a scoreless game.
But after some tense bullpen moments in the top of the 11th, Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez turned the tide with a two-run double to left field. The Yankees got one back on a single by Aaron Judge in the bottom of the inning, but neither Giancarlo Stanton nor struggling Anthony Rizzo had any success against Los Angeles reliever Johan Ramirez.
The Dodgers came out on top in the first game of this three-game series with a close 2-1 victory.
“It was a great game,” manager Boone acknowledged in the post-game press conference. “Great pitching, great plays, tough at-bats. Both teams had a few chances to get through and didn’t. Just great pitching.”
When asked if the ailing superstar could pinch-hit, Boone smiled sheepishly, shook his head and said, “Not tonight.”
That night, Soto was standing on the top step of the Yankees dugout as he always does, occasionally putting on batting gloves and holding a bat. In the end, it was clear that Boone, Soto and the Yankees were not going to force the soon-to-be free agent to play under any circumstances. The season was long and full of fears. Soto needed a rest day, and the Yankees didn’t want the Dodgers to know it.
“I have a plan,” Soto told reporters after the game, implying that his fidgetiness during the game was just a way to stay sane. Boone revealed that Soto never took a swing or warmed up during the game. It was all for naught, but in the end it didn’t matter. The Dodgers won because they got it done. This was also a game where Juan Soto thrived. Several things could be true.
Soto or not, the whole spectacle was certainly unique.
This will be the third time the Dodgers have traveled to the Bronx for a regular-season series since interleague play began in 1997. MLB’s new balanced schedule makes this homecoming tour a biennial event for the Dodgers. Perhaps over time they will become less frequent and appealing. For now, the show remains a novelty.
For a century, baseball history ran through these two franchises, both before and after the Dodgers left Brooklyn for Southern California in 1957. For the next 40 years, each team made history in their own league, in their own region, without ever meeting the other. From time to time, the baseball gods would send these two powerhouses to the same World Series, setting up the high stakes of a bicoastal reunion.
Given the current state of both teams, this current series has the feel of a Fall Classic. The Yankees and Dodgers entered Friday night as the two teams with the best odds to win, according to FanGraphs and every sportsbook out there. To call this matchup a World Series preview is as smart as it is sensational. The Yankees have the best record in MLB. The Dodgers have the best roster in MLB. No one should be surprised.
A crowd of 48,048, the Yankees’ largest paying crowd of the season, packed the house Jeter built. A long line formed outside the home plate gate minutes before the first pitch. A throng of guests and spectators gathered on the infield warning track during batting practice. An overwhelming number of reporters filled the press box. The late-night breeze was a slight chill, reminiscent of autumn weather.
But the decision that night was a reminder that it’s only June, and these games don’t mean much yet. In October, Soto will be in the starting lineup, heavily medicated in his inflamed arm, or at the very least, he’ll be pinch-hitting for Rizzo in the 11th inning. But even if Soto had been available, Boone couldn’t be so cruel as to take away what should have been one of his main players.
Sometimes you have to live for tomorrow.
Whether Soto plays when the teams meet again for Game 2 on Saturday night is another story entirely.
“We’ll check in tomorrow and see how it goes,” Boone said.
