Juan Soto, of course, did not take himself out of San Diego. The Padres, with payroll firmly in mind, made the trade that sent the slugger to the Yankees, and he is thriving in New York.
But forgive Padre fans if they felt Friday as if salt was being poured in their wounds when Soto and fellow star Aaron Judge hit back-to-back homers in the third inning.
And after a single by Alex Verdugo, it went from bad to worse when a third star Yankee, Giancarlo Stanton, sent another ball out of the park – they were all no doubters – as New York built a commanding 6-0 lead.
The five runs in the inning all scored with two outs, so clearly it was not Yu Darvish’s night. He would go on to give up one more run – another homer, this time from Gleyber Torres – before leaving in the sixth trailing 7-0.
The Padres ultimately fell 8-0 as they opened up a six-game home stand with a three-game series against the Yankees, who lead the American League East.
The Friars could only muster three hits, from Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill and Jake Cronenworth, against Carlos Rodón, and none at all after the Yankee starter departed the game in the seventh.
Soto came to the Padres in a blockbuster trade with Washington in 2022. After he made it to the National League Championship Series with them to end the season, he and the team had every reason for particularly high hopes in 2023.
They all came to naught, however, and the Padres, beset by a foundering offense and rumored to be in turmoil, missed the playoffs completely, despite a late push.
While certainly no slouch in San Diego – he won a Silver Slugger with the Padres – he is tearing it up in New York. With two hits Friday, his average rose to .315 and his two-run homer off Darvish was his 14th on the year.
Soto discussed San Diego with MLB.com, calling it “a great city” with “a great fanbase,” but he also conceded that perhaps fans at Petco Park never got to see all that he can do.
“That’s one of the things I was sad about,” he said. “I couldn’t show them how great I can be.”
New York’s gain is San Diego’s loss.
The Padres will send Dylan Cease to the mound Saturday against Marcus Stroman in a 6:40 p.m. start.