Juan Soto vs Josh Hader with the bases loaded, a breakdown
What Happened
Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals steps to the plate in the bottom of the 9th inning, with the bases loaded and his team trailing the Milwaukee Brewers by one run in a tense playoff matchup. On the mound is hard-throwing Brewers closer Josh Hader, who is known for his electric stuff but is struggling with his command tonight. Hader starts the at-bat by missing the strike zone with three straight fastballs, loading the bases after walking the previous batter, Anthony Rendon. Soto calmly watches the pitches go by, confident that Hader will have to throw him a strike with the game on the line. Sure enough, Hader leaves a 3-1 fastball over the plate and Soto gets a good swing on it, but pops it up weakly. The count goes full, 3-2 and Hader still can't find the strike zone, walking Soto to force in the tying run. Soto stares Hader down as he calmly takes his base, unfazed by the pressure of the moment. Brewers catcher Yasmani Grandal looks concerned, knowing that Hader's slider has completely deserted him tonight. For the decisive 1-1 pitch, Hader tries to sneak a fastball past Soto, but the young Nationals star is sitting dead-red. He unleashes a powerful swing, driving the ball deep into the outfield for a go-ahead, bases-clearing double. Soto admires his handiwork, casually flipping his bat as the Nationals dugout erupts in celebration. This clutch at-bat perfectly encapsulates Soto's poise and confidence in high-leverage situations. Despite the pressure and Hader's imposing stuff, the 21-year-old superstar stays calm, trusts his approach and delivers in the biggest moment of the game. It's a testament to his advanced hitting abilities and unflappable mentality - qualities that have made him one of the most feared young hitters in baseball. The Nationals go on to win the game, taking a crucial 1-0 lead in the series. Soto's heroics cement his status as a postseason legend in the making, with many more big moments surely still to come.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momenthey guys I know I did the breakdown
yesterday of the entire eighth inning
but I wanted to take a minute and talk
just about this Soto vs. hater at-bat
this is what led up to it yet all the
runners on 1st and 3rd and a hater
doesn't have his fastball control which
isn't good because he also doesn't have
his slider and he's already learned he
doesn't have his slider so that's three
fast balls in a row the 300 fastball if
you're Rendon you're not gonna swing at
that because if you walk bases are
loaded it's the playoffs you got to take
that but now you get the next one
this is his pitch to hit 3-1 fastball is
coming and he just pops it up that was
his pitch to hit then it goes 3-2 hater
still hasn't thrown anything but fast
balls cuz his slider has nothing so he
walks him bases are loaded
Soto knows this going in and he steps in
with all the confidence in the world and
just stares at him look at him
some some some players know hey with 3 2
pressures on the pitcher pressures not
on me he's got to throw a strike he
walks it's a run so it's definitely what
it looks like so does thinking here like
I'm game let's go Grondahl is looking at
Soto like don't look at the signs like
dude I know it's coming it's fast ball
says dude slider it has absolutely
nothing oh here we go
first pitch fastball misses it
damn got his pitch alright bring it
again bring it again next pitch Oh one
they try to get him to chase the slider
and look how cocky is a whole your
sliders got nothing I ain't chasing that
bud you want to beat me you're gonna
have to be me with all those fast balls
now it's 1 1 Soto digs in he knows
another one of those sliders ain't
coming he's got no slider that was like
a test to see if he got it back he
didn't now he's got the 1 1 fastball
cockiest [ __ ] waving the bat around and
bam turns on it puts it and play was
sitting on it coz he could and you guys
know the rest baseball so cool that is a
team sport and it comes down to these
one-on-one moments where it's like ok so
2 vs. hater this is the [ __ ] game and
then crush him helped out at the end
there but really hater didn't have a
slider
and he couldn't control his fastball
which is a tough combo