Juan Soto seems to have avoided a major injury.
The 20-year-old outfielder is considered day to day with a sprained ankle, manager Dave Martinez told reporters Sunday.
Soto suffered the injury in the seventh inning of the Nationals’ 7-4 win over the Mets at Citi Field. Soto was rounding third after a double by Asdrubal Cabrera but came up limping halfway to home before being tagged out.
Soto threw his helmet in frustration before being examined by trainers. He was then removed from the game.
Juan Soto injury pic.twitter.com/G957OgSAAf
— One Pursuit Takes (@OnePursuitTakes) August 11, 2019
Soto said he thought he could have returned to the field.
“I wanted to go out there, Soto said, via MLB.com. “They said, 'No stay here. Let’s see what you have.' Then (Gerardo) Parra comes to me and says, ‘Hey, we got this. We have two more innings. Go inside and be ready for tomorrow.'”
Soto was replaced by Victor Robles, who blasted a key two-run homer in the ninth inning off of Mets closer Edwin Diaz.
Victor Robles has hit 15 HRs in 2019.
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 11, 2019
FIVE of them have come:
• Against NL East opponents
• In the 8th inning or later
• With a separation of 2 runs or fewer@victor__robles // #OnePursuit pic.twitter.com/Su4bAEe6GD
“I was really happy when Victor hit the homer,” Soto said. “I told the trainers, ‘I just came out to let him hit a homer.’”
Soto is slashing .289/.401/.543 with 24 home runs and 77 RBIs in 106 games so far in 2019. He has also scored 68 runs and stolen 10 bases.
The Nationals finished play Sunday leading the National League wild-card race with a 62-55 record.