Martinez says Juan Soto always gets the green light on 3-0 originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Six pitches into the bottom of the ninth, Will Smith was in trouble.
The Atlanta Braves closer entered the frame looking to push Tuesday afternoon’s game against the Nationals into extra innings after Washington tied things up in the eighth. He got off to a poor start, allowing Victor Robles to smack a leadoff single on the first pitch and hitting Trea Turner in the shin two pitches after that. Then he went down 3-0 to Juan Soto.
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Soto looked over to the dugout for his sign: green light all the way. Smith fired a fastball over the heart of the plate and Soto sent it screaming up the middle for a walk-off single. After his teammates mobbed him on the infield and a sideline reporter managed to grab him, Soto was asked if there was any doubt he would swing 3-0.
“Oh hell no,” Soto said on MASN. “I was swinging the whole time. I’m swinging. If you throw it right there, I’m gonna swing.”
Most hitters don’t swing 3-0. Soto isn’t most hitters. Manager Davey Martinez said after the 6-5 win that he wants the 22-year-old phenom to always be ready to swing in 3-0 counts, because he may not ever have a better chance at getting a pitch to hit.
“I’m just so happy that he looked down at the sign,” Martinez said on a Zoom call. “We never really want him taking 3-0. If he gets a good pitch, we want him to hit it. I would’ve been real upset if he would’ve taken a 3-0 strike. We want him to hit, but what a great at-bat.”
Entering Tuesday’s game, Soto was 4-8 with two homers, two doubles and 49 walks in 57 plate appearances with the count 3-0. His 1.500 slugging percentage in those situations ranked as his highest for any count, giving Martinez the confidence to let Soto swing away as he chooses.
“I know Juan knows the strike zone really well,” Martinez said. “He’s gonna get a good pitch to hit and for him, as you see his at-bats, working counts is what he does best. For a guy like him, if he gets to that count 3-0, they’re gonna throw him a strike. You’re the guy, you want him up there. You want him to get the job done so I was proud of him to stay ready, stay focused, he got a good pitch to hit and he hit a bullet.”
