Yankees’ Juan Soto homers off scoreboard, has blast wearing pinstripes for 1st time | ‘You want to be out there and get that feeling’

In his Yankees debut, Juan Soto crosses home plate after his three-run, fourth-inning homer on Sunday off Blue Jays right-hander Trevor Richards.

TAMPA, Fla. — Juan Soto sprinkled some small ball and long ball into his first game in Yankees pinstripes.

The long ball was quite impressive. His third time up Sunday, the Yankees’ new superstar outfielder tomahawked a changeup the other way for a 428-foot, three-run homer to left-center that banged off the Steinbrenner Field scoreboard.

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RESTORING THE GLORY

Soto also moved a runner in the first inning by following Alex Verdugo’s leadoff double with a groundout to second and he walked in the third.

A Yankees’ split-squad won the game in a rout, prevailing 12-6 against a Blue Jays club that played only one regular.

The crowd of 9,278 was its loudest when Soto homered, and he loved it.

“You want to be out there and get that feeling of Yankees fans,” Soto said. “You always heard about them, so you get to the point where you’re, ‘OK, I want to see how it’s going to feel to have them on my back cheering for me instead of booing me.’ It think it was pretty good.”

This was quite a debut for Soto, who was traded by the Padres to the Yankees in a December blockbuster.

His homer came in the fourth inning. With two on and one out, Soto crushed a high 1-0, 78-mph changeup that was on the outside corner of the plate.

“You got 470 feet out there to left-center,” Judge said. “It’s probably the deepest in the game. For (Soto) to take that pitch like he did and hit it the other way with ease, you don’t see too many lefties doing that.”

Soto hit second between Verdugo and Aaron Judge in a lineup that included five regulars.

Left-hander Carlos Rodon started for the Yankees had an impressive first 1-2-3 first inning with two strikeouts, but he walked two and hit a batter in a scoreless second and then allowed a solo homer to Alejandro Kirk in the third. His final line was 2 2/3 innings, one hit, one run, two walks, five strikeouts and 48 pitches.

“I felt decent,” Rodon said. “I thought it was OK. I thought it was a good first step.”

About 16 miles west of Tampa in Clearwater, Fla., a Yankees’ split squad that featured newcomer Marcus Stroman starting and no regulars in the lineup was blanked 4-o by the Phillies.

Like Rodon, Stroman also worked a clean first and then had some struggles. The righty didn’t get out of the second and ended up allowing three runs, two earned, over 1 2/3 innings. He gave up three hits, walked one, and fanned one in a 42-pitch outing that included 26 strikes and 16 balls.

NOTABLE

— Shortstop prospect George Lombard Jr., the Yankees’ No. 1 draft pick last year, was summoned in from the minor-league complex to play in a Grapefruit League game for the first time and hit a two-run, eighth-inning homer. The 18-year-old right-handed hitter entered the game in the bottom of the fifth and walked in his first plate appearance. In his second, he belted a 356-foot, opposite-field homer to right-center off Blue Jays lefty reliever Jimmy Robbins.

— Judge was 2-for-2 with a double and two runs scored batting second and playing right field for the first 3 ½ innings of the win over Toronto.

— Center field prospect Spencer Jones hit for Judge in the fourth and was 2-for-2 with a walk, leaving him with 5-for-5 with a homer, four RBI, a walk and a hit by pitch in two spring games.

— Non-roster catcher Luis Torrens, homering for the second day in a row, blasted a sixth-inning solo shot off Blue Jays righty Hayden Juenger.

— The Yankees were no-hit by the Phillies until one out in the eighth when non-roster outfielder Greg Allen grounded a single to right. That was the Yankees’ only hit.

— Hoping for a rebound season after a rough 2023, reliever Ron Marinaccio was shaky in his first outing. Control problems last season due to a demotion to Triple-A and they continued Sunday against the Phillies when the righty allowed one run over 1 1/3 innings on one hit and two walks.

— DJ LeMahieu and Giancarlo Stanton are scheduled to start Monday’s game after sitting out the first two days of Grapefruit League games.

—Gerrit Cole will make his first spring start on Friday in Tampa against the Blue Jays.

LOOKING AHEAD

Monday: Twins at Yankees in Tampa, 1:05 p.m., YES & MLB Network. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson vs. LHP Nestor Cortes.

Tuesday: Yankees at Rays in Port Charlotte, 1:05 p.m. RHP Clarke Schmidt vs. TBA.

Wednesday: Off day

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Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected].

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