Trent Grisham answers the 'We want Soto' chants with game-changing home run vs. Dodgers
NEW YORK – It’s a notoriously short distance from home plate to right field at Yankee Stadium.
So, “yes, I heard them,’’ Trent Grisham said of the increasingly louder “We want So-to!’’ chants that seemed to start in the right field bleachers – Juan Soto’s closest neighbors – and spread around the park Sunday night.
“I was just hoping to stay in the moment.’’
Hitting .082 as he batted against Dodgers’ starter Tyler Glasnow in the sixth inning, the seldom-used Grisham changed the fans’ tune – and the Yankees’ fortunes – by blasting a no-doubt three-run homer.
“It felt good,’’ Grisham said of connecting and hearing the Stadium explode in cheers, as his go-ahead shot to right propelled the Yankees to a series-saving 6-4 win before 48,023 fans.
“We want Grish-am!’’ was the new serenade for his next at-bat, and “I heard those, too,’’ said the smiling lefty-hitting Grisham, whose three starts this weekend were due to Soto’s left forearm inflammation.
Soto went through his normal routine before Sunday’s game, including hitting in the cage, and Soto could return to the Yankees’ lineup Monday night at Kansas City.
Imagining another Dodgers-Yankees series in October
Sunday’s game was great theater, with superior star power and the unexpected twists involving the supporting cast - inviting thoughts of a potentially bigger autumn matchup.
“You understand the LA-New York component. You’re watching two really good teams,’’ Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of his AL-East leaders (46-21) and the NL West-leading Dodgers (41-26).
“But it’s a long way to go’’ before October.
Still, “that’s a playoff atmosphere,’’ said Aaron Judge (2-for-3), with an RBI double in the third and a solo homer in the eighth. “They were loud on both sides.’’
Thousands of traveling Dodgers fans added to the World Series flavor in June, and they were treated to Teoscar Hernandez’s wrecking-ball approach to Yankees pitching.
Hernandez’s solo homer in the sixth broke a 2-2 tie, ending the night for a tiring Luis Gil.
The rookie Gil’s franchise-record streak of seven straight starts of six innings and one run-or-fewer allowed ended with Mookie Betts’ two-out, two-run double in the fifth.
Over the three games, the first two won by LA, Hernandez went 6-for-12 with two doubles, three homers and nine RBI, though the Yanks managed to keep Shohei Ohtani in the park all series.
Until his eighth-inning leadoff double, Ohtani was 1-for-12 with an RBI this weekend.
Yankees' supporting cast comes through
Speaking of the supporting cast, Oswald Cabrera solo shot – his first homer since May 1 - gave the Yanks their first lead of the weekend.
Cabrera was playing third base because DJ LeMahieu moved to first base as Anthony Rizzo – just 1-for-29 in June – was rested Sunday, and he might sit Monday as well.
Gleyber Torres’ rough defensive series, with errors in each of the first two games, ended with a rangy 4-3 double play against Betts to end the seventh, with Luke Weaver pitching.
Before that play, catcher Jose Trevino expertly cut down a runner advancing to third base on a sac bunt attempt.
Enhancing the drama in the ninth with runners at first and second, Clay Holmes closed it by striking out Betts, with Ohtani standing on deck.
In the clubhouse, the added cheers were for Grisham, who’d started only 15 games in 2024 entering the weekend.
“A lot of people in there are really excited for him,’’ said Boone, who batted Grisham fifth Sunday, with the lefty-hitting Soto and Rizzo out.
Making his first start against the Yanks as a Dodger, Glasnow was 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA at Yankee Stadium as a Tampa Bay Ray heading into Sunday.
“He’s had our number for a while,’’ said Judge. “For (Grisham) to come up with a big home run like that, it was special.’’
Judge said he “wasn’t too happy’’ with the fans’ initial treatment of Grisham, “but I think he got the point across’’ with his third homer of the year.
“(Soto’s) been carrying this team all year,’’ said Judge, who also heard “M-V-P’’ chants following his MLB-leading 24th homer. “Anytime you go against good teams like this…they want to see the best out there.’’
As Grisham reminded everyone, it’ll take more than just the stars’ efforts to get to October.