Juan Soto finally found his hitting groove on Saturday night at Citi Field, lashing a double with the bases loaded in the fourth inning of the Mets-Dodgers game. The long double hit the top of the wall in right center field, narrowly missing a grand slam that would have cleared all three baserunners. Instead, it brought home Brett Baty and Francisco Lindor, but Starling Marte was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
The big hit gave New York a 4-2 lead over Los Angeles and was a welcome sight for fans who had been waiting for Soto to break out of his slump. Before his double, Soto had singled in both innings prior to that one. He flew out twice earlier in the game—once deep into center field against Dodgers starter Dustin May and again deeper into left-center off reliever Ryan Yarbrough.
Manager’s Confidence
Manager Buck Showalter expressed confidence in Soto’s abilities when asked if he thought his player would snap out of his slump soon.
"I’m not worried about him," Showalter said. "He’ll be fine."
Soto’s struggles have been well-documented this season as he has struggled to find consistency at bat despite being one of baseball’s top players for years prior to joining New York last offseason as part of an eight-player trade with San Diego.
Observations on Soto’s Performance
Despite being just 27 years old—relatively young by baseball standards—many observers believe that this could be an early sign that he is declining from where he was during those peak seasons with Washington or San Diego.
However, Mets general manager Billy Eppler remains optimistic about what can still be expected from Soto moving forward.
"I think we’re going through some ups and downs right now," Eppler said before Saturday’s game against Los Angeles. "He’s got some good things happening; I think you saw him make some adjustments on Wednesday (in Game 1) when they were pitching him inside more aggressively."
Eppler added, "And then today (Saturday), you see him make another adjustment by trying to pull it more."
Coaching and Adjustments
Soto has been working closely with hitting coach Eric Chavez throughout spring training after struggling during winter ball back home. Chavez has emphasized getting back into hitters’ grooves early rather than late in counts when pitchers are most aggressive.
It appears that this message is starting to sink in, as evidenced by how quickly he adjusted after getting beat up on pitches outside earlier this week.
Team Changes
In addition to adjusting their approach at bat, the Mets also made several other key moves before Friday night’s series opener against Los Angeles, including:
- Calling up catcher Francisco Alvarez from Triple-A Syracuse.
- Placing catcher Tomas Nido on injured reserve due to inflammation behind his right knee.
- Optioning infielder Mark Vientos back down after playing two games off the bench.
- Activating outfielder Tyler Naquin from the injured list while placing outfielder Brandon Nimmo on the IL due to a lower left leg strain.
Naquin will likely start Sunday afternoon’s series finale while Nimmo will likely miss multiple weeks. Mets manager Buck Showalter said pregame Friday night that Naquin will play every day until further notice unless something changes between now and Sunday afternoon’s final regular-season game. Naquin played first base Friday night because Pete Alonso needed rest after playing first base Thursday evening.
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