OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — New York Yankees star right fielder Juan Soto was scratched from the lineup a day after hurting his left leg sliding into a wall to make a catch.
Soto was originally in the lineup for Friday night's game against the Oakland Athletics but was pulled out after reporting soreness and swelling in his left leg. Manager Aaron Boone said X-rays were negative and Soto will not need additional testing.
Soto hurt his leg on Thursday in Seattle when he slid into the short wall in foul territory down the right-field line while making a highlight reel catch. He remained in the game but had swelling on Friday.
Boone said Soto is day to day and he wasn't “overly concerned” the injury will linger into the postseason. The Yankees clinched a playoff berth on Wednesday night and went into day with a four-game lead in the AL East over Baltimore with nine games to play.
“Guys do a good job of knowing how to protect themselves and playing smart in certain situations,” Boone said. “I think him getting down the way he did protected him a little bit. Obviously he bruised it and he's out today. But I think the way he did it avoided something serious.”
Soto is batting .286 with 40 homers and 103 RBIs in his first season with the Yankees. Soto entered the day second in the majors with 125 walks, 284 times on base and a .418 on-base percentage, trailing only teammate Aaron Judge in all three categories. Soto is third in the majors with 120 runs scored.
Soto missed three games in June with left forearm inflammation.
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New York Yankees' Juan Soto walks back to the dugout after striking out against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
New York Yankees right fielder Juan Soto makes a diving catch on a foul ball by Seattle Mariners' Jorge Polanco but collides with the wall during the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
New York Yankees right fielder Juan Soto, center, is checked on by center fielder Aaron Judge (99) and second baseman Gleyber Torres (25) after colliding with the wall after making a catch on a foul ball from Seattle Mariners' Jorge Polanco during the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
WASHINGTON (AP) — With President Joe Biden away from the White House, it was left Friday to another man with Oval Office experience to stand at the front of the Rose Garden and give a rousing call to service.
Martin Sheen and others from the cast of “The West Wing,” the hit drama about a liberal president and his staff, were invited by first lady Jill Biden for an event to mark the 25th anniversary of the show.
Sheen exhorted the crowd to find something worth fighting for, “something deeply personal and uncompromising, something that can unite the will of the spirit with the work of the flesh."
His voice and hands rose, his cadence matching perfectly that of President Jed Bartlet, the character Sheen played for seven seasons.
“When we find that, we will discover fire for the second time, and then we will be able to help lift up this nation and all its people to that place where the heart is without fear, and their head is held high,” Sheen said.
“The West Wing” remains a favorite of many who now work in Washington, both liberal and conservative. Among those spotted in the Rose Garden were House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Joe Walsh, once a tea party-aligned Illinois congressman who is now a sharp critic of former President Donald Trump and supporting Vice President Kamala Harris.
Asked to name his favorite character, Walsh replied, “I'm partial to Martin Sheen because I want to be president one day." (Walsh ran and lost a longshot Republican primary challenge to Trump in 2020.)
It was clear in the speeches and the party’s touches that at least a few “West Wing” fans work in the White House.
There was the U.S. Marine Band playing the opening notes to the show's theme as Biden and the cast walked out. There were references to “big blocks of cheese” — a show tradition of requiring staffers to meet with eccentric or offbeat characters — and the walk-and-talk dialogues in which characters moved through the halls at high speed.
Waiters passed out bourbon-and-ginger ale cocktails called “The Jackal,” a reference to press secretary C.J. Cregg's dance and lip sync routine in one iconic episode.
After Sheen's address, Sorkin recognized the cast members in attendance. Among them: Richard Schiff, who played communications director Toby Ziegler; Janel Moloney, who played assistant Donna Moss; and Dulé Hill, who played the president's body man, Charlie Young.
He also noted the absence of a few high-profile actors — Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford and Rob Lowe — who he said were on set elsewhere.
“The rest of us are apparently unemployed,” he joked.
After the crowd laughed, a voice chimed in from Sorkin's right.
“Not yet!” Jill Biden said.
Actor Martin Sheen and other members of the cast of The West Wing, listen to Aaron Sorkin speak at an event on the Rose Garden at the White House to mark the 25th anniversary of the television series, The West Wing, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
First lady Jill Biden, listens to actor Aaron Sorkin speaks at an event on the Rose Garden at the White House to mark the 25th anniversary of the television series, The West Wing, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
First lady Jill Biden, listens to actor Martin Sheen speaks at an event on the Rose Garden at the White House to mark the 25th anniversary of the television series, The West Wing, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
First lady Jill Biden, with actors Martin Sheen, left, Aaron Sorkin, right, and other members of the cast of The West Wing, is applauded as she hosts an event on the Rose Garden at the White House to mark the 25th anniversary of the television series, The West Wing, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
