While New York Mets star outfielder Juan Soto seemed on the verge of getting hot at the plate coming off impressive performances over the weekend, he went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in New York’s 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night.
Following that victory, Soto spoke openly about the start to his Mets tenure that hasn’t quite gone to his liking, even though the team began Tuesday at 16-7.
“I’m still getting into a rhythm and working on getting my timing,” Soto told Manny Gomez of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. “I’m still not at the point where I want to be, but I’ve been feeling better little by little every day.”
Soto received a standing ovation from fans at Citi Field ahead of his at-bat in the bottom of the fifth inning of Friday’s home game against the St. Louis Cardinals. He then drove home a total of five runs through Sunday en route to helping the Mets complete a four-game sweep.
In the bottom of the third inning of Monday’s win, Soto initially thought he had crushed a three-run home run into the second deck in right field. However, umpires correctly overturned the call after replays showed the shot went wide of the foul pole.
Soto ended Monday’s action slashing .244/.370/.415 with three homers and 12 RBI on the season. Such production is disappointing considering the Mets gave him a 15-year, $765M contract that could exceed $800M this past offseason, but the club nevertheless continues to tally positive results despite his struggles.
Specifically, the Mets entered Tuesday in the middle of a five-game winning streak. Thus far, the Amazins have gone 10-1 at home and have opened a three-game lead in the NL East.
Per Alex Smith of SNY, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said ahead of Monday’s victory that Citi Field crowds have “shown the ability to make this an uncomfortable place for opposing players.” Perhaps that energy will give Soto a needed spark during Tuesday’s home game versus the 13-10 Phillies.
“I can do better than what I’ve done so far,” Soto added during his chat with Gomez. “But at the end of the day, the numbers will speak for themselves. We’ll see how things play out in the end.”
