Last Night in Baseball: Juan Soto is hitting like Juan Soto again

There is always baseball happening — almost too much baseball for one person to handle themselves.

That’s why we’re here to help, though, by sifting through the previous days’ games, and figuring out what you missed, but shouldn’t have. Here are all the best moments from last night in Major League Baseball:

Juan Soto is heating up

It’s not that Juan Soto was struggling, exactly. When we checked in on the Mets earlier this week, they had become the first team to 20 wins in 2025, even with Soto hitting well below his usual standards, but his standards are lofty. Entering last weekend, he had still managed a .364 on-base percentage, which is nothing to scoff at even if his usual power hadn’t awoken from its winter slumber just yet.

In the last week, Soto has done nothing but hit. His last seven games and 30 plate appearances have produced a .320/.433/.640 line with four two-hit nights, including Thursday’s performance, which featured a pair of home runs. His first…

…and second…

…at Citi Field as a Met. Chances are good there are going to be many more of those, too. A statement that’s true whether you think it means homers in general or two-homer performances. Soto is now up to .252/.379/.443 on the season, good for a 136 OPS+. The Mets were cruising even without him providing much more than walks; Soto hitting like he’s supposed to is only going to help things. Even if it wasn’t enough on Thursday, since Soto provided the only offense in a game New York dropped to the Diamondbacks, 4-2.

Red Sox bullpen blows it again

On Wednesday, the Red Sox gave up a six-run lead thanks to a barrage of Blue Jays’ homers, leading to a walk-off loss in extras. Thursday did not go much better, except it wasn’t a trio of homers this time, but just the one: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. took reliever Justin Slaten deep in the eighth inning, giving the Blue Jays a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Boston’s relievers have actually been more effective than their starters as far as the season as a whole is concerned, as they’ve allowed a less potent slash line relative to their rotation mates and their peers on other teams. Their collective ERA is over one-third of a run higher than the rotation’s however, and nights like the last two are a large part of why.

Javier Báez, man

Javier Báez is just a lot of fun to watch play baseball. All the defensive plays and amazing tags in the Cubs’ infield years ago was a joy, and now he’s playing center field for the Tigers because they need someone out there who can hold down the fort. Another way to put it is that Báez is listed as the Tigers’ third baseman, and has spent most of the year in center and at shortstop.

On Thursday, while playing the former, he robbed a home run with a leaping catch because of course he did.

He contributed with his bat, as well, hitting a homer for the second game in a row.

The Tigers would go on to defeat the Angels, 10-4, in a night that got much worse than just a single loss for Los Angeles. And that’s because…

Mike Trout lands on the IL

The move from center field to right field was the right one to make to try to keep Mike Trout healthy, and in the long run it might prove its worth, but in the present he’s now on the IL. A bone bruise in his left knee is the culprit this time around; the Angels will be without him for at least 10 days.

Manager Ron Washington told MLB.com that the injury is “not significant,” but that Trout needs to rest it after aggravating his surgically repaired left knee on Wednesday against the Mariners. The Angels veteran has had a bit of a rough start to the year, as he’s batting .179/.264/.462. Plenty of power, as he’s managed nine homers and 11 extra-base hits overall, but he’s also striking out nearly 30% of the time in the early going.

Ramírez makes history

José Ramírez managed something no Guardians player ever has before: when he stole a base on Thursday night, it gave him 250 for his career, making him the first player in franchise history to total at least 250 homers and 250 steals.

Not only is he the only one on the list for the Guardians, but it’s a short list across all of MLB, as well. Ramírez is merely the 24th player in history to accomplish the feat. Power/speed combo players are in a truly elite class unto themselves: consider that while just 24 250/250 players is noteworthy on its own, just eight of those players managed to reach the 300/300 level. Ramírez stole 41 bases last year and hit 39 homers, and is at 260 homers as of this writing. As he’s also just 32 years old, he should cross that even more elusive threshold, and then some.

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