Juan Soto addresses possible season turnaround after Mets' sweep of Rockies

As Tim Britton of The Athletic pointed out, New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto safely reached base six times in a game for the first time in his career during New York's 13-5 win at the Colorado Rockies on Sunday that secured a three-game sweep for the Mets. 

Following the victory, Soto spoke about what he and the Mets hope will prove to be the start of a season turnaround following his at-the-plate struggles over his first two months of the campaign.

"It's always a good feeling to get on base, try to help the team in any way," Soto said, as shared by Tom Hanslin of SNY. "Even if I take a walk or hit the ball hard, I just try to help the team. ... It's just the same thing [at the plate]. I'm just finding more gaps, more holes. Finally landing some pitches and making some good swings and decisions. Just finding some holes."

Rumors suggesting Soto regretted leaving the New York Yankees to sign the 15-year, $765M contract offered by the Mets this past offseason hovered over the Amazins as he looked out of sorts during at-bats throughout the spring. However, he mentioned during the first week of June that he had recently "been feeling more comfortable" as a Mets player. 

Across his previous 10 games leading up to Monday's off day, Soto slashed .364/.553/.697 with a 1.250 OPS, three home runs, six RBI and 13 walks. According to Baseball Savant, Soto began Monday ranked fourth in all of MLB with a .436 expected weighted on-base average. To compare, Yankees captain Aaron Judge had a league-best .473 xwOBA at that time. 

The Mets went 8-2 from May 30 through Sunday afternoon. 

"That's who he is, another great hitter we've got in our lineup," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said about Soto following Sunday's win. "Three singles and three walks, not easy to do at the big league level. Good to see him do that, and again, finally getting some results. But I feel like the at-bat quality has been there throughout."

Over the first 65 games of his Mets tenure, Soto slashed .244/.384/.436 with an .820 OPS, 11 homers and 31 RBI. More importantly, as it pertains to the Mets' long-term goals, they ended Sunday's action at 42-24. The second-place Philadelphia Phillies entered Monday at 37-28.

"You couldn’t ask for a more perfect day offensively," first baseman Pete Alonso said about what Soto gave the Mets on Sunday. "His commanding of the strike zone, him hitting the ball hard all over the yard, staying in the middle of the field just crushing liners, it was a perfect day for him. He’s been killing it. I feel like he’s going to continue to do so for sure."

Soto will look to continue "killing it" during New York's three-game home series versus the Washington Nationals (30-35) that gets underway on Tuesday night.