Somehow, Juan Soto lived up to it.
The Mets’ $765-million man continued to transform a season that began in disappointment, hitting a milestone home run Friday to help the Mets beat the Nationals, 12-6 at Citi Field and allowing them to continue controlling their own destiny with eight games left to play.
All three teams trailing the Mets for the third wild-card spot remain two games back or more.
The Mets scored six runs in the fourth, capped by Soto’s three-run shot – his career-high 42nd; Soto scored two runs, walked twice and stole a base, putting his season totals 103 RBIs, 117 runs, a career-high 34 stolen bases, and a major-league leading 121 walks.
He’s one of three players to collect at least 40 homers, 30 stolen bases, 100 RBIs and 100 walks, joining Jeff Bagwell and Barry Bonds. Only four players have hit 40 homers and driven in 100 RBIs in their first year with a New York team, according to SNY: Babe Ruth, Jason Giambi, Pete Alonso, and Soto, twice.
The Mets trailed 4-1 in the middle of the third before scoring seven runs over the next two innings, highlighted by Francisco Lindor’s go-ahead RBI single in the fourth. Brandon Sproat, making his third major-league start, wasn’t sharp, but his four innings of four-run ball were enough against a Nationals team seemingly intent on beating itself, courtesy of three errors.
Six Mets relievers finished the job, allowing two runs over five innings, highlighted by Ryan Helsley who, after a dreadful start to his tenure as a Met, hasn’t allowed a hit in his last two appearances.
The Mets capitalized on the Nationals’ miscues in the first: Lindor stroked a leadoff single, extending his hitting streak to eight games, and with one out, Alonso dumped another single to right. Dylan Crews, though, couldn’t field it cleanly and Lindor, who had gone first to third, came home to score after Crews also missed the cutoff man at first.
The Mets returned the favor in the third, courtesy of messy defense: Sproat walked Paul DeJong to lead off the inning and Jorge Alfaro’s swinging bunt died on the grass near the third-base foul line. Sproat was slow to field it and overcompensated with a very hard, wide throw to first that caromed off the wall and into right. Soto was also slow to the ball – so much so that Brett Baty had to charge in from second to grab it, but not in time to stop DeJong from coming home all the way from first.
Sproat walked the next batter, and James Wood’s double play moved Alfaro to third, allowing him to score on CJ Abrams’ double. Things got messy again: Josh Bell hit a fly ball to center that Jose Siri appeared to catch on the run, except he didn’t squeeze his glove, the ball skipped out, and Abrams scored. The next batter, Daylen Lile, hit another long fly ball to right center, and Siri took a bad route for a run-scoring triple and a 4-1 Nationals advantage.
Sproat, largely working without his four-seamer – which he threw only three times over 71 pitches – allowed the four runs and four hits with two walks and five strikeouts over four innings.
More bad defense got the Mets to within 4-2 in the third: Lindor reached on a two-out single and then went to third when Soto’s single was misplayed in right. Lindor then scored on Alonso’s line drive to left.
The Mets, though, were able to take the lead in that six-run fourth, with an assist from (wait for it)…more bad defense.
Brandon Nimmo singled and Starling Marte hit a very slow chopper toward third that DeJong simply failed to charge, apparently thinking Marte had fouled it off himself. Francisco Alvarez’s double plated both.
Andrew Alvarez then hit Baty and was pulled after the next out in favor of lefty PJ Poulin; Lindor, though, doubled to left to score Alvarez. That brought up Soto, who hammered a 78.6-mph sweeper that broke directly in the middle of the plate, nearly hitting it into the home run apple in center to put the Mets up 8-4.
The Nationals got two back in the fifth, when Abrams hit a 426-foot no-doubter off Huascar Brazoban. Marte tacked on a run-scoring ground out in the seventh and the Mets added three in the eighth off Mason Thompson.
Senga on the brink
Kodai Senga’s poor minor-league outing Thursday has obstructed his path to a potential Mets’ playoff roster. Manager Carlos Mendoza said Senga will have to face live batters again before they even think of his next steps.
“Stuff wise, [he] was down, whether it was the velo [or] execution, [and] the secondary pitches were not sharp,” Mendoza said Friday.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.