Juan Soto brought his full bag of antics to Game 1 of the NLCS, pulling out one of the most intense versions of his signature Soto Shuffle. With the bases loaded in a 1-0 game, he stepped in against Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas and turned the at-bat into pure theater. Soto shuffled his feet, stared down the mound, adjusted himself, and made sure the pitcher saw every bit of it. He delayed just long enough to lock eyes before digging back in, licking his chops like he knew something was coming.
Mikolas didn’t bite. He dropped a slow curve that landed for a strike, disrupting the rhythm. Soto reset with another exaggerated shuffle, upping the mind games. The at-bat didn’t end like he wanted though. He rolled over a breaking ball and grounded out to first. As Soto turned back to the dugout, Mikolas gave it right back to him, complete with his own mock shuffle and personal adjustment. No words exchanged, just gestures and a nod to the unwritten rules. A junk-grab standoff to start the series, and everyone knew the energy was up.