SEATTLE — After talking up their October dreams Wednesday night, the Yankees faced a potential nightmare scenario Thursday afternoon.
His postseason hopes flashed before his eyes when Juan Soto chased down a ball in right-field foul territory and slid toward the wall to make a spectacular catch, but remained on the ground in pain.
He threw the ball back into the infield, then threw down his glove and tended to his left knee that had hit the concrete beneath the padding.
Aaron Boone, two trainers and a handful of concerned teammates ran to right field to check on Soto, who eventually stood up and remained in the game.
For now, the Yankees and Soto appear to have avoided anything more serious than a bruise and some swelling in his knee, which is a win on a day when they lost to the Mariners, 3-2, to miss out on the sweep at T-Mobile Park.
“I was very worried,” Soto said after receiving treatment for nearly an hour after the game. “When I threw the ball, I felt a lot of pain in my kneecap. But over time, it started to go down and feel better. I was definitely a little scared at that point.”
Soto was required to undergo precautionary X-rays to ensure he did not suffer any damage to his knee.
He said how he wakes up Friday in Oakland and how the swelling is will determine whether or not he'll be in the Yankees' lineup against the A's.
“The heart definitely skipped a few beats and I'm sure every Yankee fan around the world was feeling the same thing,” said Clarke Schmidt, who allowed three runs (one earned) in five innings and was in the training room when the play occurred.
The loss, combined with the Orioles finally winning a game Thursday, cut the Yankees' lead atop the AL East to four games with nine games remaining.
His magic number to secure the division was still six.
Less than three hours before the first pitch Thursday, a large group of Yankees arrived at a visiting clubhouse that still smelled of cheap champagne and beer from the night before.
But if that didn't hurt, the Mariners' strong pitching certainly did, as the Yankees (89-64) went just 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position against right-hander Logan Gilbert and the Seattle bullpen.
They left eight runners stranded on base and their only source of offense was a two-run homer by Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the third inning off Gilbert.
Those issues, a day after becoming the first American League team to clinch a playoff spot, would have paled in comparison to losing Soto for any length of time with the postseason just two weeks away.
The play had shades of when Aaron Judge crashed into the unpadded portion of the right-field wall at Dodger Stadium last year and injured his toe, derailing the Yankees' season.
But Boone said he thought Soto's slide might have saved him.
“My biggest fear was that he would sprain something,” Boone said. “I think sliding like that probably saved him a little bit, he banged up his knee pretty bad.”
Soto has struggled with injuries to his hand and foot this season, but on Thursday he was playing in his 149th game in the Yankees' 153rd game of the year.
He's got a big payday coming up in free agency this offseason, and much of the Yankees' postseason hopes rest on his shoulders, but that didn't stop him from trying to make a play in a one-run game.
“I feel like it’s just the adrenaline of the game,” Soto said. “You mentioned free agency, this and that; when I get in those lines, I forget about everything. I literally just focus on the game. We’re trying to win the game to help the team do the best we can.”
The Mariners took a 3-0 lead off Schmidt in the first inning after Jasson Dominguez dropped a ball in left field, having trouble picking it up in the sun, his second defensive error in two days.
Then, after hitting a double to lead off the second inning, Dominguez was thrown out trying to score from second on Anthony Volpe's line drive single to right fielder Luke Raley.
“It’s a spectacular play, a perfectly executed pitch by Raley,” Boone said. “It’s the second inning, so you can’t just sit back. You have to play the game. So there’s no problem (with the pitch).”
