NEW YORK – Mets manager Carlos Mendoza didn’t know where to start when asked what impressed him the most about his right fielder, Juan Soto.
Soto is the team’s best hitter, especially in the last 20 games dating back to Aug. 29. He has a slash line of .368/.462/.829 with 10 home runs and a Major League-leading 24 RBIs. Soto is showing how badly he wants to go to the postseason.
“I could go a lot of different ways [when talking about Soto],” Mendoza said. “When you are talking about the numbers, it’s something special. You compare him to some of the greatest players that ever played this game when you look at the numbers.
“To me, it’s just the person. It’s how consistent he is throughout the whole year. When it was hard for him in the beginning, going through the ups and downs … he never panicked. The impact that he has with the boys, that for me is what makes who he is. Special guy, special player.”
Soto was something special in New York’s 12-6 victory over the Nationals on Friday night at Citi Field. His hot bat proved to be the difference. He went 2-for-3 with two walks, two runs scored and three RBIs, which came via one huge homer.
With the victory, New York remains two games ahead of the Reds for the third and final NL Wild Card spot.
This was a game that went back and forth. Washington had a 4-1 lead after 2 1/2 innings against right-hander Brandon Sproat thanks to some sloppy Mets defense. But after he pitched just four innings, Sproat received a no-decision once New York took a lead it would never relinquish.
The Mets started chipping away in the third. With Nationals left-hander Andrew Alvarez on the mound, they cut Washington’s lead to 4-2 when Francisco Lindor scored on a single by Pete Alonso.
In the following frame, the Mets scored six runs to take an 8-4 lead. Francisco Alvarez tied the score at 4 with a two-run double. Three batters later, New York had runners on first and second when Lindor laced a go-ahead RBI single to left field off left-hander PJ Poulin. The ball went past left fielder James Wood for an error, and that allowed Brett Baty to advance to third and Lindor to second.
Soto followed and hit a three-run homer to make it a four-run game, setting a new single-season career high with his 42nd home run.
“That’s the best hitter in the big leagues. You leave something over the middle, and he makes you pay. You’ve got to execute your pitches,” said Nationals interim manager Miguel Cairo.
The homer ended up being the game-winner after Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams hit a two-run homer to make it an 8-6 game in the following frame.
“It feels great,” Soto said when asked about his personal high in homers. “A lot of hard work day in and day out since the offseason and getting some results. It’s really good for any player. It feels great to get the win.”
The way the season has been going, Soto could be in the top three in the NL MVP voting. Entering Saturday’s action against Washington, Soto has a slash line of .265/.397/.534 with 103 RBIs. When asked to describe his season, Soto said, “It was a great season. I know [I] ended up doing good stuff. [There was] a tough stretch in the beginning. I definitely have to work on that. I’ll try to be better and go from there.”
Soto is more than just a home run hitter. His patience is off the charts. His 121 walks this season are four shy of tying John Olerud’s franchise record. He has 19 games with at least one walk and a homer, which tied Howard Johnson (1991) and Michael Conforto (2019) for the most in a single season by a Met. Soto has five seasons of 120-plus walks, the fifth-most in Major League history behind Barry Bonds (11), Babe Ruth (10), Eddie Yost (8) and Ted Williams (8).
“I think it’s a combination of everything that he has done at the plate – his ability to control the strike zone, his bat to ball skills, the ability to drive the ball to all fields, his ability to hit righties and lefties,” Mendoza said. “On top of that, just the awareness and the understanding of the situation, what the pitcher is trying to do to him. It’s like a complete package there in the batter’s box. For me, nothing surprises me anymore. I feel like he is going to continue to get better. For me, that’s pretty unbelievable.”
