Juan Soto reflects on stare-down with Dean Kramer after 447-foot homer

Juan Soto’s antics on the plate are very intimidating and sometimes distract pitchers. Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Dean Kremer got the special Soto treatment firsthand in Tuesday’s game against the New York Yankees at Camden Yards.

In the top of the sixth, Kremer was up against Soto and his intimidating shuffle at the plate. Soto took him deep with a big drive to the right field stands with a projected distance of 447 ft. coming off the bat at an exit velocity of 112.6 mph. This followed with Kremer having a staredown with Soto as if to say, ‘You got me, homie this time.’

After the game, Soto was asked about Kremer’s reaction following the home run.

“It was part of the game. We were going back and forth,” Juan Soto said. “He didn’t like the shuffle. I bet he didn’t like the homer, too.”

Kremer, who may not have liked that particular at-bat, was on song against the teetering Yankees offense. He only allowed two runs in seven innings pitched despite Juan Soto’s effort and helped his team eke out a 4-2 victory.

Nestor Cortes Jr., who started the game for the Bronx Bombers, threw six innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and two walks. However, he was happy with the club’s performance in April.

“Overall, I think it was a pretty good month for us,” said pitcher Nestor Cortes. “There’s a lot of positives, and a lot of things that we can work on that we could be better, for sure. We could have probably won four out of those 12 games that we lost.”

The Yankees (19-12) concluded April in second place in the American League East, one game behind the Orioles (19-10).

Juan Soto gave props to Orioles defense, who belittled Yanks offense for the second straight night

This is the second straight evening when the Orioles have bettered the Yankees from the mound. They won 2-0 on Tuesday and followed it up with tonight’s 4-2 victory to take a two-game lead over the Yankees. Juan Soto, too, acknowledged the Orioles’ defense and said:

“We’re all grinding, we’re all trying to get some runs on the board. But things aren’t going our way. We hit the ball hard, we hit the ball in the gaps. They’re making great plays and diving all over the place. We’re giving good at-bats with contact, we’re hitting the ball hard. They just haven’t landed for us.”

The Yankees still have two more games to turn things around before the two teams complete the series. The third game will be played on Wednesday, and we may be in for another spectacular contest.