Juan Soto's electrifying home run highlights a sterling Yankees victory

NEW YORK – This was an electrifying home run by Juan Soto, capping a five-run seventh inning with a three-run shot to right.

And once more, the citizens of Sotoville showed their appreciation as he trotted to his position.

Chants of “M-V-P! M-V-P!” greeted Soto in right field, from a standing, madly cheering portion of the 36,055 fans Friday night at chilly Yankee Stadium.

“Like I’ve said before, we feel like a family, that’s great,’’ said Soto, the game’s most famous pending free agent, after the Yankees’ 5-3 comeback win against the Tampa Bay Rays.

“At the end of the day, they’re part of the game, too,’’ Soto said of the inspiration he draws from the Bronx crowd, starting from the roll call chants.

"Sign Juan Soto on the dotted line''

After a go-ahead RBI single by Anthony Volpe snapped his personal 0-for-13, Soto launched his no-doubt homer, spiked his bat and screamed toward home dugout as the crowd erupted.

Soto wants to get the fans going, and they desperately want to keep the party going beyond 2024, his only guaranteed season at the Stadium.

With five homers, a .347 batting average and 20 RBI in his first 20 games, Soto’s stock price is soaring daily, something that Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt alluded to in passing late Friday night.

“I guess sign on the dotted line? I don’t know how much he wants,’’ Schmidt said with a smile.

That’s a doubtful in-season proposition with Soto as a Scott Boras client, but there’s definitely a bond between Soto and the right field crowd, with many fans of Dominican heritage also in the stands.

Friday night was “a playoff atmosphere, and a lot of credit goes to him,’’ Schmidt said of Soto. “He lights a fire with the crowd.’’

After another dicey, but somehow scoreless, ninth inning save by Clay Holmes, the first-place Yankees (14-6) posted their seventh comeback win – their fourth when trailing after six innings.

All of last season, the Yankees won six times when trailing after six innings.

A Sterling victory by any measure

Before the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone mentioned how victories at the Stadium ought to be celebrated with the retiring John Sterling’s signature phrase, “Thuuuuuuh Yankees win!’’ blaring from the scoreboard.

Saturday is John Sterling Day, celebrating his career after 36 years as the radio Voice of the Yankees, and maybe they’ll take up Boone’s suggestion, or even name the radio booth after Sterling and longtime broadcast partner Suzyn Waldman.

On Friday night, the bleacher fans even included “Johhhhn Ster-ling!” in the roll call.

Had he called Friday night’s game, Sterling’s signature game-ending phrase would have doubtless contained extra emotion, as Holmes survived a rocky ninth inning.

Snaring a Palacios liner, shortstop Anthony Volpe started a sharp double play to end it, with runners at first and second.

Holmes had yielded two singles to open the ninth, and a confusing play followed when Randy Arozarena popped up to extremely shallow center field, where Aaron Judge missed a diving attempt.

As the Yanks recorded a force out at third base, both managers needed clarification from the umpires.

Was the infield fly rule invoked?

Second base umpire John Libka signaled “out,’’ but only because he thought Judge had caught the ball; he’d only rolled over it, and Libka quickly reversed that call, and the Yanks got the force play at third.

Had the infield fly rule been invoked, the batter would have been automatically out, and the runners’ advancement would be at their own peril.

Yankees' late magic continues

Soto also made a tremendous catch to end the third inning, robbing Richie Palacios of at least an extra-base hit, with nobody on base.

Palacios’ sixth-inning, solo homer was the only damage off Schmidt in 5.1 innings, on a career-high 102 pitches.

“I loved every bit of that,’’ said Schmidt, wanting to go on the attack and to pitch deeper in games.

Still, the right-hander struggled with putting batters away with two strikes, and gave up seven hits, though he walked none and had seven strikeouts.

Dennis Santana tossed 1.2 scoreless innings after Schmidt, but this time Ian Hamilton struggled as the main bridge to Holmes, yielding two runs in the eighth.

And that set up another highwire act by Holmes in the ninth, though, “you’re always one pitch away, that’s what I keep telling myself,’’ with his signature sinker and increased use of the slider.

“A lot of exciting moments so far,’’ Holmes said of the general excitement at the Stadium. “You feel the intensity, you feel the fans.

“That’s why it’s one of the best places to play.’’

As for the "M-V-P'' chants, Soto said: "I think it's way too early.''

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Juan Soto's electrifying home run highlights a sterling Yankees victory