The Mets never needed the kind of validation about Juan Soto that a big night like Saturday might bring, though maybe a few of their more angsty fans did. The team believed its superstar slugger was always going to be okay, and way more than that. Whatever his transition to being a Met has been, it’ll ultimately be manageable.
It’s certainly easy to believe it all when the ball is screaming off Soto’s bat the way it was in the Mets’ 5-2 victory over the Dodgers at Citi Field. While left-hander David Peterson was the pitching star, Soto delivered a key two-run double that gave New York the lead for good, part of a hard-hit-fest that evened the must-see series with Los Angeles. Soto smacked four balls with an exit velocity of at least 102 mph.
Was the tiebreaking double his True Met Moment (trademark pending)? Who knows. Maybe he doesn’t even need one. Soto may not be off to the kind of start that prompts odes in his first year as a Met, but perhaps he’s getting there.
“That was awesome,” said Peterson (3-2), who allowed two runs in 7.2 innings, the longest start by a Met this season. “[Soto] works his butt off and I think for him to be able to get that [double] should only give him confidence… I think every guy on this team believes in who he is as a player.”
Soto, who finished 2-for-5, snapped a 0-for-10 skid with a third-inning single. The double ended a streak of 11 consecutive games without an extra-base hit, the second-longest such streak in his brilliant career. He’s now reached base multiple times in a game 30 times, fourth-most in MLB this season. No wonder he has a .370 on-base percentage and a .792 OPS.
In the first inning, Soto mashed a 396-foot out to deep center, run down by Tommy Edman. On a hot summer night, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza opined, that ball “is way out.” Not, however, when it’s 61 degrees at first pitch in late May.
“This guy has been very unlucky,” Mendoza said. “I feel like every time there’s runners on base, there’s a 110, 115 [mph exit velocity] at somebody. It was good to see him finally get the results… We wanted it. He wanted it. And it’s just good to see.”
There was a vigorous ovation for Soto afterward. That was nice, considering all the speculation and discourse that has swirled around the $765-million star since he’s moved from the Bronx to Queens.
Some have concentrated so hard on theories about whether he misses his Yankees mates or is mad at where he’s hitting in the Mets’ lineup, that they’ve forgotten he’s a 26-year-old who changed companies amid mammoth expectations. Plenty of other stars — Francisco Lindor among them — have struggled in their first year in a new gig.
But dealing with those sorts of worries is what the money’s for, as Don Draper might’ve told Soto.
For his part, Soto says, “I don’t listen to any of that.” A reference to the outside cacophony about the start to his Mets career. “I’m focused on what I’m doing here.”
He ranks 13th in both average exit velocity and hard-hit percentage. If some of his hard liners have ended in opposing gloves, “I just call it baseball,” Soto said. “Just gotta live with it… You just gotta keep moving forward, no matter what.”
He did acknowledge that his double, which came against Dodger starter Tony Gonsolin with the bases loaded, felt good. Especially when he saw it hit the base of the wall in right-center.
“You see one landing, it always feels good,” Soto said.
Entering the night, Soto was one of the worst qualified hitters in baseball with runners in scoring position. He still is, afterward, though the double obviously helped. There’s plenty of time left in the season, too.
The Mets believe his numbers will change and, eventually, soar. And the conversation about their new star will be very different as the season goes on.
“I know the player,” Mendoza said. “I know how he handles adversity. Look, there’s a big-time track record there. So for us to worry about him? Not really. I mean, he’s too good and we know sooner rather than later, the results are going to be there. He keeps hitting the ball hard. He’s Juan Soto.”
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