Nationals outfielder Juan Soto learned the hard way Sunday that you should run out every ball you hit.
In the team's 6-5 win over the Orioles, Soto hit a two-out pop fly that he assumed was going to go foul. However, the ball blew back into play and struck down in fair ground right in front of the catcher. Soto could've been safe at first, but he hadn't been running on the play and instead was thrown out.
The blunder ended the inning and cost the Nationals a run, as Andrew Stevenson would've scored from third base had Soto beaten out the play.
— Brendan Donley (@_brendan_donley) May 23, 2021
In fairness to Soto, it did look like the ball would drift foul, but he still should've been on the move just in case.
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As such, Soto's effort, or lack thereof, drew the ire of Washington manager Dave Martinez.
“I already talked to him about it and told him it was embarrassing for the whole club," Martinez said, per Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post. “He understands that. I made him apologize to the team. And I told him it doesn’t happen again.”
Considering that Soto was visibly upset after the play, it's hard to imagine that he'll make another blunder of this sort. And because Washington still emerged victorious, the story is of the no harm, no foul variety.
Literally.