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Shohei Ohtani has been shutting down opposing lineups throughout the season all while launching home runs as a hitter, but San Diego Padres slugger Juan Soto isn’t scared of Tuesday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Angels ace.
“He’s impressive, but he’s gonna have trouble to face this lineup tomorrow,” Soto told reporters. “Definitely. I’m coming here to play baseball. We all know he’s an impressive player, but whenever he steps on that mound, I won’t be scared to shuffle his ass.”
Darnay Tripp @DarnayTripp
Juan Soto on facing Shohei Ohtani:
“We all know he’s an impressive player, but whenever he steps on the mound I won’t be scared to shuffle his ass.”
😂😂😂
His at bats Tuesday against Ohtani will be must see! pic.twitter.com/1qkj8dFm5t
On paper, Soto is right about Ohtani facing quite the daunting task in the Padres lineup.
The star-studded group includes Soto, Fernando Tatís Jr., Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts and others and figured to be among the best in the league. However, that hasn’t exactly been the case, as the Padres fell to 38-46 with Sunday’s loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
They are an ugly 3-10 in their last 13 games and are in fourth place in the National League West.
San Diego is 11.5 games back of the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks and looks nothing like a World Series contender that could challenge the league’s best players and teams.
Ohtani may be the league’s best player with a 3.02 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 127 strikeouts in 95.1 innings as a pitcher. He is slashing .306/.390/.670 with 31 home runs, 68 RBI and 11 stolen bases.
He is leading the league in both home runs and RBI.
Soto deserves credit for his confidence and not backing down from arguably the biggest challenge in the league, but his comments could certainly backfire if the Padres struggle in Tuesday’s matchup and continue to slip down the standings.
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