Mets' Statement on Juan Soto's Big Night

It didn’t start that way. Soto was called out on strikes in his first at-bat, but he quickly bounced back. In the third inning, he belted his 12th home run of the season, cutting the Washington lead to 3-2. He grounded out in the sixth, but his next trip to the plate proved critical.

In the bottom of the eighth, Soto delivered a clutch two-out double to right, scoring Starling Marte and later scoring himself to tie the game. After a scoreless ninth, Jeff McNeil walked it off in the 10th, driving in Luisangel Acuna, who was pinch-running for Brett Baty.

Soto’s night capped an encouraging stretch. He’s now 8 for his last 15 in June, showing signs of heating up at just the right time.

Through 66 games this season, Soto is batting .248 with 12 home runs and 33 RBIs. It’s a dip from last year’s performance with the Yankees. When he played 157 games, he hit .288, crushed 41 homers and drove in 109 runs, the second straight year with exactly 109 RBIs.

Soto began his career with the Nationals in 2018, was traded to San Diego in 2022, and played all 162 games for the Padres in 2023. The Mets made headlines in the offseason by locking him up with a 15-year, $765 million contract. He’ll remain in Queens through at least 2040.

New York’s message is clear: Juan Soto’s bat is waking up, and the rest of the league should take notice.