Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals hit his first home run of the season on Opening Day.
On Thursday, April 7, 2022, the 2022 Major League Baseball season began. While two games were canceled due to inclement weather, there were seven games on the schedule to see, including the Washington Nationals taking on the New York Mets.
Since they had gone scoreless entering the bottom of the sixth inning and were losing 4-0 to the Mets, Nationals fans were likely dissatisfied with most of the game. All of that changed when star outfielder Juan Soto smashed his first home run of the season, blasting Trevor May’s pitch into orbit. The deficit between Washington and the rest of the world has shrunk to 4-to-1.
Soto has just hit his 99th home run of the season. Fans reacted to Soto’s baseball launch into Nationals Park’s second tier.
Let’s get #100 tomorrow night 😏
— Ladies of Nationals Baseball (@LONTDC1) April 8, 2022
MY USERNAME HAPPENED ITS AN AMAZING DAY
— Allison (@juansotoHR) April 8, 2022
I think you can re-use this graphic like 35-40 more times this season 💣
— Baseball Reigns Supreme (@Jakes_Takes_0) April 8, 2022
Soto is on track to hit 162 home runs this season, according to the Nationals’ Twitter feed. Soto’s career high for home runs is 34, which he hit in a single season in 2019.
On-base percentage (.465), walks (145), and intentional walks (23), as well as 29 home runs and 95 runs, were all factors in Soto’s second-place finish in the NL MVP voting in 2021. Soto is hoping to do the same thing again this year.
The Nationals’ single homer was the lone run they scored in a 5-1 loss to the Mets.
