'Pretty loud': Soto swats hardest HR of career
Jessica Camerato
@jessicacameratoAnother home run, another career marker.
¡°It was pretty loud,¡± Soto said. ¡°One of the things that I like to hear every time I hit the ball is just how loud it is.¡±
Soto¡¯s shot soared 433 feet, marking his second-longest dinger of the season. Manager Dave Martinez noted the elevation on Soto's swing.
¡°He hit it hard -- it was really hard,¡± Martinez said. ¡°But I¡¯ve seen Soto hit balls hard consistently. That¡¯s just the kind of swing he has. That was a great swing. He took a borderline pitch before that, got one just a tad up a little bit more and smoked it.¡±
With all the power Soto exudes when he pummels homers, he pays closer attention to the exit velocity of his infield hits. On Aug. 17, he recorded his hardest-hit batted ball -- a 116.6 mph double to right-center field against the Blue Jays.
¡°I know most of my homers are 110 [mph],¡± Soto said. ¡°I feel, sometimes, I hit the ball harder than that, and every time I look up it¡¯s 110. So since '19, '20, I¡¯ve just forgotten about looking at the exit speed of my homers. I look when I hit a single or double, because I think those are coming out harder.¡±
After hitting 11 home runs over 79 games in the first half of the season, Soto has been connecting at a rapid pace. Thursday marked his 10th homer in 36 games since the All-Star break. The efficiency is even more notable given that he¡¯s also drawn 42 walks in that stretch.
¡°The big thing about it is he¡¯s getting walked a lot, we know that,¡± Martinez said. ¡°He¡¯s just got to be ready. We always talk. They¡¯re going to make one or two mistakes per at-bat, and you¡¯ve just got to be ready to hit them.¡±
Soto¡¯s homer provided a spark on an evening in which Marlins pitching shut down the offense, at least until a ninth-inning, two-run rally. Southpaw Patrick Corbin was chased after allowing six runs in only three innings, his second-shortest outing of an up-and-down season.
Soto is leaving Miami and heading to Queens riding this momentum for a three-game weekend series, where he has done plenty of damage before against the Mets. He belted the two longest homers of his career at Citi Field last season.
¡°I¡¯ve just got to keep myself in the strike zone, try to look for a specific pitch,¡± Soto said. ¡°If they don¡¯t do that, just walk. But if they throw it, just try not to miss it.¡±