The Venezuelan Liván Soto, prospect of the Los Angeles Angelsconnected this Sunday his first hit and home run in the Major Leagues (MLB, for its acronym in English).
In the bottom of the third inning, the 22-year-old took out the bat fast on a sticky pitch from Seattle Mariners starter Marco Gonzales to deposit the ball into right field.
Soto gets his first big league knock!!@Angels | #GoHalos pic.twitter.com/c2o4RDcqVV
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) September 18, 2022
Later in the lucky seventh inning, Soto punished Gonzales again, but this time with enough force to take the ball to the stands of the right field.
According to Baseball Savant, the Valencian’s first home run registered an exit velocity of 95.9 miles per hour and traveled 364 feet.
The first career home run for Livan Soto! ????#GoHalos pic.twitter.com/ZbenToWBhw
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) September 18, 2022
The man from Carabobo went 3-2, with two runs scored and two RBIs in his first game as a starter.
Read also: “Salvy” easily surpassed the “green monster”
Liván Soto became the 460th Venezuelan player to play in the MLB on Saturday night, according to data from Baseball Baseball.
Welcome to the Show, Livan Soto. ????????#GoHalos pic.twitter.com/bf9enKvbnM
— Angels Baseball (@AngelsBeisbol) September 18, 2022
Thanks to the debut of the Valencian infielder, 23 criollos managed to make the leap to the MLB this year to establish a new record.
The power of “Fifo”
The other great Venezuelan protagonist of this game on Sunday was Luis Rengifo, who hit two home runs for the second time in his career.
GEEFY FAITHFUL RISE ????#GoHalos pic.twitter.com/Bc2mKhVLe3
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) September 18, 2022
“Fifo” has four homers and seven RBIs in the Angels’ three games.
With the Creole power, the Angels managed to beat (5 to 1) the Mariners, who seek to continue in the wild card positions of the American League.
