Perhaps it was the fatigue of needing to belt out 53 bombs to win the Home Run Derby the night before. Or maybe it was the stress of being the lead story all weekend after news leaked of him turning down a 15-year, $440 million extension offer from the Nationals.
Or, it could have been good old fashioned bad luck.
Regardless, Nats slugger Juan Soto went 0-for-3 in three plate appearances for the National League All-Stars Tuesday night, ending his All-Star Weekend with a fizzle.
Soto entered the game in the bottom of the third, hitting for Mookie Betts, and grounded out to second in his first at-bat against Astros' lefty Framber Valdez.
Soto grounded out to third in his next at-bat while facing another lefty, Martin Perez of the Rangers, in the bottom of the fifth.
Soto grounded into a fielder's choice to third in his final at-bat, against Detroit left-handed pitcher Gregory Soto in the bottom of the seventh.
It's not that they were bad at-bats. In total, Soto saw 12 pitches. They just didn't produce the results Soto would have hoped for in the national spotlight.
The AL All-Stars gained a 3-2 lead — off of consecutive homers from Giancarlo Stanton (Yankees) and Byron Buxton (Twins) — in the top of the fourth, a lead they would not relinquish, holding it for the final score.
