Juan Soto has a forceful explanation for his slump against the Mets

In a duel between two of the National League’s protagonists, the New York Mets beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-2 to tie the series in a thrilling encounter that had Juan Soto as the protagonist.

The Dominican outfielder has been the target of criticism for failing to live up to the expectations generated by becoming the highest paid player in Major League history, with a contract of US$765 million for 15 seasons, but his numbers have been far from what was expected, with a batting average of . 241, eight home runs, 23 RBIs and an OPS of .792, in addition to calling into question his performance in the Mets’ last series, first when facing the New York Yankees and, later, against the Boston Red Sox, where a hit at Fenway Park that Soto thought could be a home run and did not run quickly, ended in a single when it crashed into the wall of the Green Monster.

The vindication came this Saturday night, after going scoreless in five at-bats during the 7-5 loss in 13 innings in Game 1, Soto was key in the second game, finding a timely hit on a 2-2 count on Tony Gonsolin’s pitch and connecting on a full house double with the game tied 2-2 after a single by Starling Marte.

“It’s always great to take the lead for the team. After a tough loss, we tried to bounce back and we did it the best way we could,” Soto said in a chat with SNY after the double, which came close to being a homer, drove in the two runs for a lead the Mets would no longer lose, adding, “When it hit the wall, it shocked me. I thought, ‘I didn’t know the ball went that far.'”

Juan Soto’s blunt message on his bad streak

In 42 at-bats in which Juan Soto had come to the plate with runners in scoring position, only in five had he taken advantage of the opportunity to have a .119 average in this category.

After the game, Soto said to ignore the criticism and focus on what the team does on the field, so he is confident in his quality and with a simple explanation he shared for SNY his mentality when bad streaks come.

“I just call it baseball. It’s going to happen, sometimes you’re going to hit hard and you’re going to hit right in front of people. You have to keep moving forward,” Juan Soto sentenced.