Mets go-ahead on Juan Soto’s RBI double (0:30)
Juan Soto drives in two runs on a double deep to center field to give the Mets a 4-2 lead. (0:30)
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Jorge CastilloMay 24, 2025, 11:30 PM ET
- ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
NEW YORK — Juan Soto had one thought cross his mind when he connected on Tony Gonsolin‘s splitter over the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth inning Saturday night.
“When I hit it,” Soto said, “I was just like, ‘Don’t catch it.'”
Nobody did.
The ball traveled 399 feet, at 108.3 mph, off the wall in center at Citi Field, giving the New York Mets a lead they would not relinquish in a 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers and igniting raucous cheers from a fanbase that has patiently waited for Soto to emerge from his funk.
The go-ahead double was just Soto’s sixth hit — and third for extra bases — with runners in scoring position in 55 plate appearances this season. It was his first extra-base hit in any situation since May 9. He had entered the game 5-for-40 — all singles — in 11 games since that day.
The struggles — plus questions about his hustle and body language over the last week — prompted widespread discussion about his decision to sign with the Mets and the team’s decision to give him the richest contract in professional sports.
“I don’t listen to any of that,” said Soto, who went 2-for-5 on Saturday and snapped an 0-for-10 skid. “I focus on what we’re doing in here.”
Soto emerged from the game with a .241 batting average and a .792 OPS on the season. Those numbers remain far from the career marks that prompted the Mets to give him a $765 million contract after his age-25 season, but manager Carlos Mendoza again insisted bad luck has deflated his production and it’s a matter of time before Soto busts out.
“He’s too good of a player,” Mendoza said. “I know the player. I know how he goes about his business. I know how he handles adversity. And, look, there’s a big-time track record there. So, for us to worry about him, like, not really. I mean, he’s too good and we know that, sooner rather than later, the results are going to be there because he keeps hitting the ball hard. And, yeah, it’s Juan Soto.”
The underlying numbers support Mendoza’s assurance. Soto entered Saturday near the top of the leaderboard across the majors in average exit velocity (95th percentile), hard-hit percentage (95th), expected slugging percentage (94th), expected batting average (90th) and expected weighted on-base average (98th).
Mendoza moved Soto down from second in the batting order — where he batted in his first 48 games this season — to third for the first time Wednesday and has kept him there for the last three games, hoping the shakeup could lead to better results. He found them Saturday, marking the 30th game he’s reached base multiple times, tied for fourth in the majors.
“Coming through with guys on, definitely feels better after so many hard balls hit and everything,” Soto said. “Seeing one land, yeah, it’s always good.”
