Yankees on the development with a Dominican star

The New York Yankees defeated the Houston Astros on Sunday, extending their best start since 2003 and completing their first four-game series sweep of the season.

The ‘Bronx Bombers’ defeated the Astros 4-3 on the road, marking another successful day for Juan Soto, whose presence has helped revitalize the faltering team.

The most successful team in US baseball history, with 27 World Series titles and 40 appearances, is coming off a forgettable season in which they missed the playoffs (for the first time since 2016), but they appear to have been revived this year thanks to Dominican-born outfielder Juan Soto Pacheco’s contributions.

Last season was a disaster for the New York Rangers, who spent $295 million on a catastrophic campaign in which they failed to advance beyond the regular season. After failing to advance to the playoffs, the world’s most famous team, with over 3.4 million Instagram followers, undertook a thorough reconstruction for this season.

Juan Soto shoots one the other way to give the @Yankees a 9th inning lead! pic.twitter.com/ZyaPDUsliz

— MLB (@MLB) March 31, 2024

This featured the departure of nine players and the entrance of Dominican Soto, who arrived in New York in December as part of a deal with the San Diego Padres and had several million dollars (approximately €30 million) in his bank account.

The New York Yankees swept the Houston Astros series by winning all four games, including a 4–3 victory in the fourth game at Minute Maid Park. The New York team is seeking to reclaim its dominance and has begun the 2024 season with the goal of returning to their former glory.

At Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, the New York bats once again instilled panic in the fans. The Yankees took an early 3-1 lead thanks to singles by José Treviño and Jon Berti, as well as a sacrifice by Aaron Judge. Meanwhile, the 2022 World Series champion Astros were led by Venezuelan José Altuve’s season-first home run.

Clarke Schmidt pitched 5.1 innings for New York, leaving five men on base, including Altuve. Nicaraguan Jonathan Loáisiga came on in relief, but his pitches were errant, allowing Altuve and Kyle Tucker to score runs, tying the game 3-3.

Theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Yankees Win!

(MLB x @CoronaUSA) pic.twitter.com/oiVsKOc6nv

— MLB (@MLB) March 31, 2024

In the ninth inning, Juan Soto appeared to secure the Broncos’ victory with his third hit of the game, allowing Venezuela’s Gleyber Torres to reach home plate.

The New York Yankees have begun an MLB season in which Shohei Ohtani is the main star. The Japanese is now the highest-paid athlete in the world, thanks to his move to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but his stellar on-field performance (batting.385 in his first three games in blue) has been eclipsed by a sports betting scandal.

Shohei Ohtani is being investigated by the MLB for a betting case involving his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, who is accused of diverting $4.5 million (€4.17 million) from his bank accounts to pay off debts owed to an underground bookmaker.

If the relationship is confirmed, Ohtani could face a one-year or permanent suspension for breaking MLB Rule 21.

According to the interpreter, he only wagered on NFL, soccer, and college football games, never on baseball games, which requires clarification beyond the fact that Ohtani swears he never bet on any game or asked anyone else to bet on his behalf. “I never bet on baseball or any other sport, and I never asked anyone to bet on my behalf.” I never went to a bookmaker to place a bet on sports.

Mizuhara, his former interpreter, took funds from his bank account. “Ippei stole money from my account and told lies,” the Japanese star claimed in his defence.