Julio Urias and Juan Soto went toe-to-toe in a tight, one-run game with two runners on. Urias started the at-bat with a looping curveball that got a generous strike call. Soto looked surprised and skeptical. Next pitch, Urias dropped his arm angle and came with a 95 mph fastball. Soto wasn’t expecting it and fouled it off. With Soto now thinking too much, Urias showed him a changeup. Soto held his swing just enough to avoid a strike, doing his signature shuffle after.
Having seen all three pitches, Soto had to guess what was coming next. Urias doubled down on the mind games, returning to the curveball, which Soto grounded foul. Then another drop-down fastball, and Soto spoiled it again. Urias noticed Soto had tracked his arm angles, so to mix it up, he threw a high slot fastball that fooled Soto but got fouled off yet again. With the count still tight, Urias pulled a changeup from the same high slot. Soto laid off, showing good discipline.
On the final pitch, Urias froze Soto with another high-arching curveball over the middle. Neither player could do more than smile. Urias stayed one step ahead the whole at-bat, mixing pitch types and arm angles while Soto fought him off with great instincts. It ended in a draw, but the edge belonged to Urias.