You couldn’t have scripted it any better for the Mets.
After trailing the Braves for the first seven innings on Monday night, they found themselves finally piecing together a two-out rally against struggling right-hander Raisel Iglesias in the bottom of the eighth.
Citi Field was absolutely rocking as Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo lined back-to-back singles to bring the scorching-hot Juan Soto to the plate with the tying run just 90 feet away.
Braves manager Brian Snitker elected to go with the lefty-lefty matchup, turning to Dylan Lee.
It was a matchup the Mets certainly liked, with Soto having two hits in his career against Lee. But the reliever got the best of him this time around, as he chased on a 3-2 slider down and out of the zone.
“For me, I just have a plan up there and try to execute it,” Soto said after Monday's loss. “I try my best to get on base and try to get Pete [Alonso] up with the bases loaded or first and second or whatever the situation. But it didn’t happen — he made a really good pitch and I just couldn’t come through, he got me there.”
That ended up being the turning point, as the Mets went down quietly in the ninth and suffered their fourth consecutive loss to their division rival.
While Soto wasn’t able to come through in that spot, he did deliver earlier in the game.
The Mets were shut down by right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach over the first 5.2 innings until the star outfielder stepped to the plate and crushed an opposite-field, two-run shot to get them on the board.
It was Soto’s 17th of the season and his eighth this month.
While the Mets have been struggling mightily offensively, he’s certainly found his footing, hitting .324 with 11 extra base-hits, 16 RBI, and a 1.188 OPS in June.
“I’m trusting in what I have and what I’ve been doing since Day 1,” Soto said. “I’ve just been trusting it and now it’s finally starting to come through.”
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