TAMPA, Fla. -- It was Juan Soto¡¯s third trip to home plate Sunday afternoon, and the outfielder eyed a pitch out of the strike zone, gyrating into his famed ¡°Soto Shuffle¡± theatrics. The next offering was more inviting, a high fastball, and it was one that he wouldn¡¯t miss.

Soto dented the left-field scoreboard for a three-run home run, authoring a memorable moment in his Yankees spring debut as the Bombers opened their home Grapefruit League slate with a 12-6 win over the Blue Jays at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

¡°You want to be out there; you want to get that feeling of the Yankees fans,¡± Soto said. ¡°You always hear about them. I want to see how it¡¯s going to feel to have them on my back, cheering for me instead of booing me. So I think it¡¯s been pretty good.¡±

Soto¡¯s Statcast-projected 428-foot blast came off right-hander Trevor Richards, an opposite-field shot on a 90.7 mph fastball. It came off the slugger¡¯s bat at 110.1 mph, according to Statcast.

¡°At Yankee Stadium and here, you¡¯ve got basically 400 feet out there to left-center,¡± said Yankees captain Aaron Judge. ¡°It¡¯s one of the deepest in the game. So for him to take that pitch like he did and hit it the other way, and with ease -- you don¡¯t see too many lefties doing that.¡±

¡°It was a bomb,¡± said left-hander Carlos Rod¨®n. ¡°Great swing. He knows what he¡¯s doing up there, that¡¯s for sure.¡±

One day after a different Yankees lineup put up 22 runs against Tigers pitching in Lakeland, Fla., a representative and new-look top half of the Bombers' order showed its promise, with manager Aaron Boone taking Judge¡¯s advice to bat Soto second.

Boone has left some wiggle room in the leadoff spot, where he envisions Alex Verdugo as DJ LeMahieu¡¯s understudy. But for the most part, it is expected to be Soto second and Judge third.

¡°Those guys put the ball in play, they get on, they get into scoring position,¡± Judge said. ¡°It makes my job easy. Especially Soto, he¡¯s a guy that¡¯s going to walk, he¡¯s going to hit balls off the scoreboard. He¡¯s just going to make it tough. When you stack up good at-bat after good at-bat like that, you wear down the starting pitchers, you wear down guys¡¯ bullpens.¡±

The early returns Sunday seemed to agree. In the home half of the first inning, Verdugo led off with a double, advanced to third base on a Soto groundout and scored on Judge¡¯s single to center field. Anthony Rizzo followed with a double before a Gleyber Torres groundout knocked in another run.

¡°Any part of this lineup that you hit in is going to be great,¡± Soto said. ¡°We have so many good players.¡±

The Yanks were moving runners again in the third inning. Soto worked a full-count walk from reliever Mitch White, then advanced to third base on a Judge double. A Rizzo groundout and Torres sacrifice fly each produced a run.

¡°I¡¯m excited, man,¡± Judge said. ¡°It¡¯s just what we¡¯ve seen for years out of [Soto]. Just impressive at-bats; every single pitch has intent. He¡¯s trying to do some damage, and if anything isn¡¯t in the strike zone, he takes it pretty easy. I¡¯m impressed by the first day, that¡¯s for sure.¡±

A three-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger celebrated for his patience and power, the 25-year-old Soto was acquired from the Padres in December with outfielder Trent Grisham in exchange for catcher Kyle Higashioka and pitchers Jhony Brito, Michael King, Drew Thorpe and Randy V¨¢squez.

Judge has made it a point to welcome Soto. The superstars have shared many laughs already in their batting practice group, laying the groundwork for what promises to be a fun summer together.

Of his budding relationship with Judge, Soto said: ¡°It¡¯s even better than what I expected. I knew he was a great guy, but I didn¡¯t know he was that good.¡±

¡°He¡¯s a New York Yankee,¡± Judge said. ¡°His first year here, I wanted to make it a good one. I want it to be his best year. If he¡¯s feeling right and he¡¯s doing his thing, that¡¯s only going to take us one step closer to a World Series.¡±