TORONTO (AP) — New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto was a late addition to the lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays after sitting out a loss a day earlier because of a bruised right hand.
The three-time All-Star and 2020 NL batting champion singled against Toronto right-hander Kevin Gausman in his first at-bat and scored on Aaron Judge's 31st home run of the season.
Soto was injured Friday night after he slid into home plate in the fourth inning of a 16-5 win. He rolled over after touching home plate with his left hand and his right hand slammed into the dirt.
Judge had been expected to play right field, with Trent Grisham in center, but New York added Soto to the lineup minutes before first pitch. Soto started in right field and Judge was the designated hitter.
Before making his decision, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Soto was feeling better.
“Pretty significant improvement from where he was yesterday with the treatment he was able to get,” Boone said.
Soto came in batting .302 with 20 home runs and 60 RBIs. He said he felt pain during batting practice Saturday, forcing him to alter his swing.
“I don’t want him compromising anything or changing his swing,” Boone said. “If there’s any of that, we’ll wait.”
Soto on Saturday had X-rays, which did not show a fracture.
The Yankees are off Monday before hosting Cincinnati on Tuesday.
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New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, right, celebrates his two-run home run with teammate Juan Soto (22) during the first inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
New York Yankees' Juan Soto celebrates in the dugout after hitting a three-run home run off Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi during the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Toronto. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
New York Yankees' Juan Soto (22) scores past Toronto Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Toronto. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
New York Yankees Juan Soto watches his single next to Toronto Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen during the ninth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Toronto. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Tuesday it had test-fired a new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying “a super-large warhead,” a claim quickly disputed by South Korean officials and experts who speculate the North likely fabricated a successful test to conceal a botched launch.
It's the second time that South Korea has questioned North Korea's claim on the development of new weapons in recent days, as the rivals are locked in heightened animosities over the North's testing activities.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said that Monday's test involved the Hwasongpho-11 Da-4.5 missile, which can carry a 4.5 ton-class warhead. It said the test was meant to verify the weapon's flight stability and hit accuracy at the maximum range of 500 kilometers (310 miles) and the minimum range of 90 kilometers (55 miles).
The test apparently refers to the two ballistic missile launches that South Korea said North Korea performed Monday.
Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Lee Sung Joon said at a briefing later Tuesday that the second North Korean missile was found to have fallen on an uninhabited area near Pyongyang, the North's capital. He said he could find few previous test-launches by North Korea that have aimed at ground target sites.
“Regarding the North Korean assessment, we’re weighing a possibility of deception,” Lee said.
The South Korean military has said the second North Korean missile possibly traveled abnormally during the initial stage of its flight. It said if the missile exploded, its debris would likely have scattered on the ground.
The KCNA dispatch didn’t say from where it launched the new missile and where it landed. Unlike previous weapons tests, North Korea also didn't publicize any photos of Monday's test. The fact that it tested both the missile’s maximum and minimum ranges suggested North Korea performed two launches.
KCNA, citing North Korea’s Missile Administration, reported that North Korea will test-fire the missile again later in July to verify the performances of its simulated warhead at the medium range of 250 kilometers (155 miles).
Some experts say test-firing missiles at ground targets could be related to efforts to test how powerful warheads are to destroy underground bunkers and structures.
But Shin Jongwoo, a Seoul-based military expert, said the fact that North Korea hasn't disclosed any photos on the launches means that it's highly likely the North is trying to deceive the outsiders to cover up Monday's failed launches. He said North Korea likely launched an existing missile on Monday, not the new missile at it claimed.
Yang Uk, an analyst at Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said that Monday’s tests reflected North Korea’s push to acquire a variety of conventional weapons. But he also said if North Korea truly succeeded in hitting a ground target, it probably would have already published related images to brag about its achievements as it's done in the past.
Since 2022, North Korea has sharply accelerated weapons testing activities to enlarge its arsenal of nuclear-capable weapons designed to strike key sites in the mainland United States, South Korea and Japan. The North Korea-claimed ranges of the newly tested missile imply it targets South Korea. Experts say North Korea would ultimately want to use an expanded nuclear arsenal to increase its leverage in future diplomacy with the U.S.
Monday’s missiles test came a day after North Korea vowed “offensive and overwhelming” responses to a new U.S. military drill with South Korea and Japan. Five days before that test, on June 26, North Korea launched what it called a new multiwarhead missile in the first known test of a developmental weapon aimed at penetrating its rivals’ missile defenses. North Korea said the launch was successful, but South Korea dismissed the North’s claim as deception to cover up a failed launch.
A TV screen shows an image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. North Korea said Tuesday it had test-fired a new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying a huge warhead, as the country is pushing to modernize its weapons arsenal to cope with what it calls U.S.-led threats. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. North Korea said Tuesday it had test-fired a new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying a huge warhead, as the country is pushing to modernize its weapons arsenal to cope with what it calls U.S.-led threats. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. North Korea said Tuesday it had test-fired a new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying a huge warhead, as the country is pushing to modernize its weapons arsenal to cope with what it calls U.S.-led threats. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
In this photo provided on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech during a meeting of Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea held from June 28 until July 1, in Pyongyang, North Korea. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
In this photo provided on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech during a meeting of Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea held from June 28 until July 1, in Pyongyang, North Korea. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
