New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto continued to look like his old self as he helped the club notch a come-from-behind 5-4 win over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night.
In the bottom of the third inning of Tuesday’s victory, Soto confidently stared Washington starter MacKenzie Gore down before the slugger won the at-bat by hitting an opposite-field solo home run. Soto then appeared to exchange some words with Gore while rounding the bases.
“We were just saying ‘hi’ to each other. That’s it,” Soto told reporters after the game, per video shared by SNY.
Soto mentioned during the first week of June that he had “been feeling more comfortable” after he seemed to press during plate appearances across the first two months of the season. The 26-year-old who signed a 15-year, $765M contract to join the Mets this past offseason is now enjoying the best stretch of play, to date, of his campaign.
According to Ben Krimmel of SNY, Soto hit .341 (14-for-41) with four homers, eight RBI, 14 runs, three doubles and 14 walks over his past 12 games. Meanwhile, the first-place Mets won nine of their past 11 contests to improve to 43-24 ahead of Wednesday’s action.
Before Tuesday’s game got underway, SNY’s Danny Abriano noted that advanced stats continued to show that Soto has been a victim of bad luck throughout the campaign. Per Baseball Savant, Soto ended Tuesday ranked third in all of MLB with a .437 expected weighted on-base average. New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge led the league with a .473 xwOBA at that time.
On Tuesday evening, Soto watched from the batter’s box in the bottom of the eighth as Washington’s Robert Hassell III misplayed a ball that fell for a base hit that allowed Starling Marte to score from first during what became a game-tying rally for New York: