Yankees’ Juan Soto likely avoids major injury after Aaron Judge-like wall collision: ‘A little scared’

SEATTLE — After talking about their October dreams on Wednesday night, the Yankees faced a potential nightmare scenario on Thursday afternoon.

Their postseason hopes flashed before their eyes as Juan Soto chased down a fly ball in right-field foul territory and slid into the wall to make a terrific catch, but stayed down on the ground in pain.

He threw the ball back into the infield, then tossed his glove and tended to his left knee that he had slammed into the concrete below the padding.

Aaron Boone, two trainers and a handful of concerned teammates jogged out to right field to check on Soto, who eventually got to his feet and remained in the game.

For now, the Yankees and Soto appear to have avoided anything more serious than a bruise and some swelling in his knee, which is a win on a day they lost to the Mariners, 3-2, to miss out on a sweep at T-Mobile Park.

“[I was] really worried,” Soto said after getting treatment for nearly an hour postgame. “When I threw the ball in, it was a lot of pain in my kneecap. But with the time, it started going down, feeling better. Definitely I was a little scared right there.”