Outside of a 449-foot home run from Juan Soto that came off the bat at 107.7 mph, the Mets’ offense was absent from this game. Until the eighth inning when A.J. Ewing got on base with a single, the Mets only had one base runner next to Soto’s homer. Unfortunately, that was quickly erased when Ewing was caught stealing. Carson Benge had two hard-hit balls that were caught on great defensive plays, though he did work a walk in the ninth inning. Outside of that, the lineup struggled to make contact against the Marlins’ pitchers.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Jared Young played a full game in Syracuse today, splitting time between left field and first base, so hopefully he will be joining the major league club soon to help this struggling offense.

While the Mets’ bats struggled, the pitching looked strong across eight innings, allowing only two runs.

Tobias Myers ended up serving as an opener, throwing 20 pitches across 1 1/3 innings. He gave up one hit and one walk, and the runner he left on base scored on a weak ground ball after Sean Manaea came into the game. Myers looked good in his outing, and his splitter was especially strong.

Manaea looked arguably the best he has all year, going 3 2/3 innings with three strikeouts and one earned run. His velocity was up again, averaging 91.7 mph on his fastball and throwing as hard as 93.9 mph. He pounded the zone with his sinker, getting a 25% whiff rate while he utilized his sweeper out of the zone with a 33.3% chase rate.

Jonah Tong made his season debut and threw three scoreless innings. Tong threw his hardest pitch of the season at 98.5 mph in his first inning of work as part of a one-two-three frame. He did not throw his cutter or slider until his final batter, Otto Lopez, but both looked the best they have throughout his big-league career. Overall, he ran an incredible 37.5% whiff rate and 38.9% chase rate.

UP NEXT

The Mets will face the Marlins’ 27-year-old breakout starter Max Meyer. Meyer has a 2.85 ERA and 1.12 WHIP across his first 10 starts with 60 strikeouts. He has struggled with injuries, including hip surgery last June, which ended his 2025 season. So far, he looks like the pitcher who consistently was ranked as a top-50 prospect across multiple lists.

On the mound for the Mets will be Freddy Peralta. He has a 3.31 ERA and 1.25 WHIP across 10 starts with 54 strikeouts.

The game will start at 4:10 PM and be broadcast on SNY.

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Today, the Mets finally play an NL East opponent other than the Nationals for the first time this season. The club has had an odd schedule to start the year. They didn’t play the Nationals until the end of April. Each of their road trips before this one were out to the west coast. They still haven’t played the Braves and Phillies.

After going 5-1 at home last week, the Mets have had a slightly disappointing start to the road trip, splitting a four game series with the Nationals. A good weekend in Miami, though, can still make this road trip a positive one!

Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Mets Lineup

1. Carson Benge – RF
2. Bo Bichette – SS
3. Juan Soto – DH
4. Mark Vientos – 1B
5. Brett Baty – 3B
6. Marcus Semien – 2B
7. A.J. Ewing – CF
8. Nick Morabito – LF
9. Luis Torrens – C

Starting Pitcher: Tobias Myers

Myers gets the start tonight. The Mets are in the midst of a 16-day stretch with no days off, and the hope is working Myers in today will give the starters a little extra rest. Over 29 innings this season, Myers has a 3.41 ERA, 4.38 FIP, 1.034 WHIP and a 116 ERA+. He has thrown three innings in two outings this year and has gone at least two innings in nine outings. The most pitches he has tossed in a game is 40. Ideally, the Mets would love to get three innings out of him tonight.

The Marlins have the following career stats against him:

• Owen Caissie 0-1,K
• Xavier Edwards 1-1, HR, BB
• Otto Lopez 0-3, K
• Christopher Morel 2-4, HR, BB, 2 K
• Kyle Stowers 0-1

Opposing Lineup

1. Xavier Edwards – 2B
2. Liam Hicks – 1B
3. Connor Norby – 3B
4. Kyle Stowers – DH
5. Jakob Marsee – CF
6. Esteury Ruiz – LF
7. Owen Caissie – RF
8. Joe Mack – C
9. Javier Sanoja – SS

Eury Pérez has made 10 starts totaling 52 1/3 innings this season with a 5.33 ERA, 5.20 FIP, 1.414 WHIP and a 77 ERA+. Pérez opened the season holding the Rockies to only three runs over seven innings. Since then, he’s had one great start, holding the Brewers to one unearned run over six frames on April 19, and every other start has been average to bad. In his last three games, Pérez has allowed 13 earned runs over 16 innings on 12 hits and 12 walks while striking out 19 batters (7.31 ERA, 6.60 FIP).

The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Brett Baty 0-2, K
• Bo Bichette 3-5, 2B
• Juan Soto 1-4, HR, K
• Tyrone Taylor 1-4, 2B, 2 K
• Mark Vientos 1-1, HR, BB

Game Notes

• As noted by the New York Post’s Mike Puma, right-handed pitcher Jonah Tong is available out of the bullpen today and could follow Myers as the bulk reliever after being recalled from Triple-A Syracuse.
• 2025 marked the first time the Mets lost the season series to the Marlins since 2017.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Strikeouts. The Mets had 12 strikeouts as a team yesterday with Benge, Bichette, Semien, Vientos and Ewing each recording two. In Pérez’s two good starts this year, he had a total of 15 strikeouts over 13 innings. In his last three starts, he recorded 19 K’s over 16 innings. Don’t give Pérez any momentum tonight! Work walks, don’t chase!
2. Sean Manaea. Manaea could see significant work today. Over 10 games (27 1/3 innings), Manaea has a 6.26 ERA, 4.27 FIP, 1.683 WHIP and a 64 ERA+. He gritted out four innings his last time out against the New York Yankees, allowing three runs (two earned) off of four hits and two walks. Manaea was hitting 91-93 on his fastball throughout his last outing, something we haven’t seen a ton of this year. Things still don’t look great for Manaea (5.23 xERA, .277 xBA), but maybe this is a harbinger of good things to come.
3. Jonah Tong. Sean Manaea may not even get a chance to pitch tonight if Jonah Tong is second arm on the mound. The Mets recalled him from Syracuse today, DFA’ing Craig Kimbrel in the process. He’s pitched 38 innings over nine starts this season with a 5.68 ERA and 1.368 WHIP. He’s getting hit hard a lot (1.9 HR/9, but he’s also striking out the world with 55 so far (13 K/9). His last start on May 14 was rough, giving up seven runs (six earned) over 1 2/3 innings. Before that, he had a two-start stretch where he allowed three runs over 11 innings while striking out 14.

Let’s go Mets!

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The Mets will look to improve in that aspect against the Miami Marlins (22-29), who have lost seven of their last 10. Miami gave New York fits last season, winning the season series 7-6.

Let’s take a look at some notes ahead of the three pitching matchups this weekend.

John Jones-Imagn Images

PITCHING MATCHUPS

• Friday: Tobias Myers (0-1, 3.41 ERA) vs. Eury Pérez (2-6, 5.33 ERA): During this recent stretch in which a few of the Mets’ starters have struggled, some fans were calling for Myers to get his chance in the rotation. He will get his second start of the season, but how much length will he be able to provide? Myers threw 25 pitches in Monday’s win over the Nationals, and he hasn’t thrown more than 40 pitches in a game this year. Expect him to provide two, maybe three innings on Friday. Availability and consistency have alluded Pérez in his young career. After a bad second half in 2025, the hope was that he would take a step forward this season. That has yet to occur. Pérez has allowed five runs in two of his last three starts, giving up four home runs over that stretch and a total of 10 in 52 1/3 innings.
• Saturday: Freddy Peralta (3-3, 3.31 ERA) vs. Max Meyer (4-0, 2.85 ERA): Peralta was initially supposed to pitch Friday, but his start was pushed back a day. He has been better in the month of May, pitching to a 2.81 ERA over three starts. The only thing that continues to trip Peralta up is a lack of length. He has thrown six innings in just three of his 10 starts this season. That needs to happen more often, especially from the ace of the staff. Meyer had a promising start to last season before undergoing season-ending hip surgery in June. He has pitched at a similar level to the one he showed in March and April of 2025. Meyer has allowed two earned runs or less in five of his last six starts.
• Sunday: Christian Scott (0-0, 4.12 ERA) vs. TBD: Scott threw 1 1/3 innings in his season debut against the Minnesota Twins on April 23. Since then, he has pitched to a 3.93 ERA over four starts. He has shown flashes, but not enough consistency. Scott has failed to throw five innings in three consecutive starts, despite reaching 80+ pitches in each of those outings. Definitely an area of improvement for him. The Marlins have yet to announce a starter for the series finale. Braxton Garrett would have been a candidate, but he was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville after his last start. Prospect Thomas White was rumored to be in consideration for a call-up, but he was placed on the injured list earlier this week.

WHAT’S THE STORY?

For the first time this season, Jonah Tong is with the big-league ball club. His start to the season with Triple-A Syracuse has been a bit misleading. 12 of the 24 earned runs he has given up have come in two starts. Besides that, his numbers have been solid. It has been reported that he has been working on a few new pitches. How much of an impact will those have against big league hitters? Will Tong make a start during this busy stretch and return to Triple-A shortly afterwards? There’s plenty of storylines surrounding his promotion. But with so many questions surrounding the backend of the rotation, Tong establishing himself would be a major lift.

PREDICTION

The Mets have won four of their six series since the start of May. They have plenty of work to do, but it appears they are moving in the right direction. The Mets will finish off the road trip in the right way, taking two of three against a struggling Marlins team.

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Tong is coming off his worst appearance of his season on May 14, where he did not make it out of the second inning. This means he will be pitching on seven days rest. Before that blowup outing, he had a four-game stretch where he threw 21 innings to a 2.57 ERA and 1.10 WHIP with a 33.7% strikeout rate.

Tong has been incredibly uneven this season with a 5.68 ERA and 1.37 WHIP. He has had three starts where he gave up sixteen runs in eight innings for an 18.00 ERA and 2.88 WHIP. His other six starts for Syracuse, he gave up only eight runs in thirty innings for a 2.40 ERA and 0.97 WHIP. His two worst starts came against the same team, the Somerset Patriots. Tong’s biggest struggles have come from his 1.89 HR/9 rate. Per Baseball America, Syracuse was one of the more home run-friendly ballparks in MiLB in 2025, and it is possible that is the same this year.

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Tong has struggled with command at times while working on developing a pitch with horizontal break. He has been incredibly inconsistent with the break on his cutter and it seems he may have been displaying a new slider recently.

There have been some positives with Tong, who is still only 22-years-old. His fastball in Triple-A ran a 28.7% whiff rate and 29.6% chase rate. When he commands it, that pitch can dominate. When he leaves it over the heart of the zone, though, it gets crushed. Similarly, his changeup has generated significant swing and miss with a 40.3% whiff and is a strong pairing with the fastball when he can locate it. He is throwing his curveball a lot harder than in 2025 and with more spin, though with less vertical movement and more horizontal movement. It is by no means a plus or even necessarily average pitch, but the results have been better so far when he locates it.

Kimbrel, meanwhile, pitched 15 innings to a 6.00 ERA and 1.47 WHIP for the Mets. He flashed plus-stuff metrics in his time with the club, but his inability to locate his pitches hurt him too much to be effective. His biggest contribution may have come from his last appearance on Wednesday, where he saved the bullpen by throwing 2.2 innings, which kept everyone fresh for the Mets’ win in the final game of the Nationals series.

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Then things completely changed. In the month of May, Williams and Weaver have combined for 17 scoreless innings. They are running extremely high strikeout rates with acceptable walk rates. They have also combined for five saves and four holds.

So, what changed?

Photo Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Devin Williams

For Williams, the change came when he sat down with the Mets’ coaching staff on April 23 and analyzed everything he had done so far this season. Per Will Sammon of The Athletic, Williams changed his delivery with the New York Yankees to try to prevent tipping, but that change impacted his mechanics negatively. He adjusted his set-up to closer mirror what he did as a Milwaukee Brewer when he threw 235 2/3 innings to a 1.83 ERA and 1.02 WHIP.

Outside of just the ERA change, everything under the hood looks better too. First, Williams’ air-bender is back to bending air. His induced vertical break went from 0.1 to -1.3 inches. Part of that number is also skewed by the effects Coors Field has on changeups – his most recent two appearances, he has averaged -2.5 inches. That is in line with where he was in Milwaukee. He has also increased his spin rate on the pitch from 2504 rotations per minute to 2638. This has led his whiff rate on that pitch to jump from 35.7% to 51.4%. His improved changeup also makes his four-seam fastball play up. Since that previously mentioned meeting, he is running a 40.7% whiff rate compared to where it sat at 34.2% before.

Overall, Williams looks like a new pitcher. His Statcast percentiles since his turnaround are off the charts:

• 24.6% swinging strike rate (100th percentile)
• 0% barrel rate (100th percentile)
• 46% whiff rate (99th percentile)
• 66.7% zone-contact rate (99th percentile)
• 38.7% strikeout rate (98th percentile)
• 42.9% chase rate (97th percentile)
• 17.6% hard-hit rate (97th percentile)
• 52.9% ground ball rate (85th percentile)
• 86.5 miles per hour average exit velocity (76th percentile)
• 6.5% walk rate (78th percentile)

Luke Weaver

As far as I am aware, Weaver did not have a meeting that turned his season around after his blown save on April 30. What did change, though, was his cutter consistency. In April, his cutter bled into his four-seam fastball too much, mirroring its movement profile too closely. His cutter in May is diving more than it was in April, jumping from a 14.3% whiff rate to a 54.5% whiff rate. He is throwing his four-seam fastball in the zone as more of a contact suppression pitch, and is also using it to set up his changeup, which in May has a 58.3% chase rate and 35.1% whiff rate. Weaver is also tunneling his pitches better, getting more separation at the plate between his cutter and his other two pitches.

While not as elite as Williams, Weaver’s Statcast percentiles in May are still incredibly strong:

• 0% barrel rate (100th percentile)
• 15.8% hard-hit rate (98th percentile)
• 36.8% strikeout rate (97th percentile)
• 85.3 miles per hour exit velocity (87th percentile)
• 52.6% ground ball rate (85th percentile)
• 14.7% swinging strike rate (83rd percentile)
• 31.9% chase rate (66th percentile)
• 82.3% zone-contact rate (64th percentile)
• 27.1% whiff rate (63rd percentile)

Conclusion

This does not look like just a lucky stretch for these two pitchers. They have both made legitimate adjustments that have led to their success the last few weeks. Williams has a long track record as one of the best closers in the game, and he looks to be back on form. Weaver’s cutter looks to be in a stronger place, and it helps his arsenal as a whole play up. Time will tell if they are able to maintain these improvements under the hood, and they both will likely give up some runs at some point, but right now the future for their Mets tenures looks bright.

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The Mets bounced back from their emotional Subway Series win by beating the Nationals 2-1 on Thursday, splitting the four-game series. Bo Bichette drove in both runs with a third-inning single, while David Peterson and the bullpen combined to hold Washington to one run. Devin Williams earned his seventh save and has now gone 10 straight appearances without allowing a run. For more, check out our recap.

The Mets will travel to Miami to begin a three-game set against the Miami Marlins, and as first noted by Mike Puma of the New York Post, the Mets have Tobias Myers listed as the starter for Game 1. It will be his second start and 17th appearance for the Mets. He’s 0-1 with a 3.41 ERA this season. The game is set for 7:10 p.m. ET.

Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Now onto the morning briefing!

Latest Mets News

Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports that Kodai Senga will begin his rehab assignment for Single-A St. Lucie on Friday, starting his 30-day clock back to the major leagues.

Latest on MMO

Mathias Altman-Kurosaki profiles some strong performances from Mets minor leaguers.

Jordan Baron writes about Juan Soto‘s latest hot streak.

David Melendi highlights Zach Thornton‘s first start in the majors.

On This Date in Mets History

Born on This Date: Collin Cowgill (1986).

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New York’s only runs came on a single by Bo Bichette in the third that drove in Luis Torrens and MJ Melendez.

But Bichette’s hit was all they needed, thanks to a solid start by David Peterson and flawless work by the bullpen. Peterson gave up just one run on four hits and three walks over five innings, striking out three. He escaped major trouble in the fifth, allowing just one run to score after putting runners on second and third with no outs. Mark Vientos saved the day with a diving play on a screaming grounder by CJ Abrams to end the inning and keep the Mets ahead.

“He’s a really good pitcher that went through struggles, but we believe in him,” said Carlos Mendoza of Peterson after the game. “Now it’s time for him to continue to do that and he will.”

Relievers Huascar Brazobán, Brooks Raley and Luke Weaver each held the Nationals hitless over four innings. The Mets had a chance to add insurance runs in the ninth, loading the bases with none out, but failed to score.

Fortunately, Devin Williams continued to resemble the lights-out closer he was a few years ago. He gave up a wind-aided double in the ninth, but secured the victory for his seventh save. Williams has now gone ten consecutive outings without being scored upon.

“If we can have a lead and get to our back end, I like it a lot”, said Williams about the pen after the game.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Peterson had one of his finest outings of the season to secure the win, despite limited run support. He improved to 3-4 with a 5.03 ERA and 1.55 WHIP.

UP NEXT

The Mets have a chance to finally climb out of the NL East basement as they begin a three-game series against the Miami Marlins, who are also 22-28 and have lost 11 of their last 17 games. New York goes up against righty Eury Pérez (2–6, 5.33 ERA). Mendoza hasn’t named a starter yet, but Jonah Tong (1-3, 5.68 ERA for Triple-A Syracuse), who was scratched from his scheduled minor league start on Wednesday, is under consideration for a spot start. Game time is 7:10 PM EDT on WPIX. 

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The Mets will try to escape Washington with a four-game split today. After winning the first game of the series by scoring 10 runs in the 12th inning, the Mets’ bats have struggled to keep up with the Nationals over the last two days. Tuesday, Bo Bichette hit two home runs, but the Mets still fell short. On Wednesday, Juan Soto hit two home runs, and the Mets couldn’t get it done. Hopefully, today is the day to get back in the win column.

Apr 13, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Mets pitcher David Peterson (23) throws pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Mets Lineup

1. Carson Benge – RF
2. Bo Bichette – SS
3. Juan Soto – LF
4. Mark Vientos – 1B
5. Brett Baty – 3B
6. Marcus Semien – 2B
7. A.J. Ewing – CF
8. MJ Melendez – DH
9. Luis Torrens – C

Starting Pitcher: David Peterson

David Peterson returns to the rotation today for the Mets. Overall, Peterson has pitched in 10 games totaling 43 1/3 innings with a 5.40 ERA, 2.97 FIP, 1.569 WHIP and a 73 ERA+. The Mets have used an opener for his last three games. In those games, he allowed seven runs, four earned, over 13 innings while striking out 17 batters (2.77 ERA, 1.42 FIP). His last start was against the Nationals, and Washington tagged him for seven runs and five hits with three walks over 3 2/3 innings. The Nationals have the following career stats against Peterson:

• CJ Abrams 4-22, BB, 4 K
• Andres Chaparro 2-6, 2B, BB, 2 K
• Dylan Crews 1-3, 3B
• Luis García Jr. 6-18, 2B, 3 K
• Daylen Lile 1-2, K
• Curtis Mead 1-2
• Nasim Nuñez 0-1, BB
• Keibert Ruiz 4-15, BB, K
• James Wood 4-15, BB, 8 K
• Jacob Young 4-13, 2 BB, 2 K

Opposing Lineup

1. James Wood – LF
2. Curtis Mead – 3B
3. Andres Chaparro – 1B
4. CJ Abrams – SS
5. Dylan Crews – RF
6. Daylen Lile – DH
7. Jacob Young – CF
8. Nasim Nuñez – 2B
9. Keibert Ruiz – C

Cade Cavalli has made 10 starts totaling 46 2/3 innings with a 4.05 ERA, 3.39 FIP, 1.543 WHIP and a 100 ERA+. The last two games have looked like his whole season, allowing five runs over 12 innings from 12 hits and a walk. He faced the Mets at the end of April, where he allowed two runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out six. The Mets have the following career stats against Cavalli:

• Brett Baty 1-4, BB, K
• Carson Benge 0-3, 2 K
• Bo Bichette 1-3
• MJ Melendez 1-2, BB, K
• Marcus Semien 2-3, K
• Juan Soto 4-5, 2B, HR
• Tyrone Taylor 1-3, K

Game Notes

• Kodai Senga will begin a rehab assignment for Single-A St. Lucie on Friday. He has been sidelined for the last three weeks with lumbar spine inflammation.
• Jonah Tong is under consideration to start for the Mets in Miami this weekend. He was scratched from his start for Syracuse on Wednesday.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Juan Soto. Soto has been tearing it up for the last three series. Over his last nine games, he has gone 14-for-36 with five home runs and 11 runs scored. He’s slashing .389/.463/.806, raising his season OPS from .826 to .951. He now has a 170 OPS+, which is higher than 2025 (160) and 2023 (155).
2. Bullpen is good to go. Daniel Duarte closed out Tuesday’s game, giving a depleted bullpen the night off. He was optioned back to Syracuse for Thornton to join the rotation for yesterday’s game. Austin Warren and Craig Kimbrel finished off yesterday’s game, totaling 54 pitches. Tobias Myers, Brooks Raley, Huascar Brazobán and Luke Weaver haven’t pitched since Monday. Sean Manaea and Devin Williams haven’t pitched since Sunday. If the Mets get a lead, they can pass it off to a well-rested bullpen!
3. Mark Vientos. Vientos was the only hitter with an extra-base hit outside of Juan Soto last night. Vientos hit his eighth double of the season. He is crushing expected stats this season with a .357 xwOBA (78th percentile), .279 xBA (81st percentile) and .525 xSLG (91st percentile). Vientos is hitting the ball hard 47.8% of the time (83rd percentile). The problem is, he has a 33.6% chase rate (28th percentile), and 29.7% whiff rate (24th percentile).

Let’s go Mets!

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Welcome to the big leagues, leading off is James Wood.

“I’m nervous before every game I pitch,” the 24-year-old said after taking the loss in his MLB debut. “This was kinda nothing new.”

Thornton got Wood to ground out to second, but then Curtis Mead singled, Andrés Chaparro worked him for a six-pitch walk and CJ Abrams turned around an 85 mph cutter for a three-run homer. The Mets (21-28) lost 8-4.

He gave up a run in the second on a Keibert Ruiz RBI single, but settled down to retire eight in a row and left with one out in the fifth after getting Wood to sky to left. He gave up four runs on four hits, struck out three, walked two and threw 53 of 80 pitches for strikes. He threw 40 cutters at an average of 86 mph and 22 four-seam fastballs at an average of 91.6 mph.

“I thought he competed,” Carlos Mendoza said. “They had some good takes on some pitches … but they ran his pitch count up. The one thing that I liked even after he got punched there in that first inning, he didn’t back down.”

Thornton was a fifth-round pick out of Grand Canyon University in Phoenix in 2023. He started this season at Double-A Binghamton, where he went 0-2 over five starts with a 3.60 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. In 25 innings, he struck out 27 and walked nine. In 12 innings at Syracuse, he gave up three runs, struck out 13 and walked three.

“I just know that I need to get in zone,” Thornton said. “I feel as though I belong here and my stuff’s going to play so if I just get in zone I’ll be alright.” When the Mets announced that Thornton would get the call, Mendoza said they would see how this outing went before deciding if he would get another. Jonah Tong and Jack Wenninger were also considered. The Mets need to fill the hole left by the Clay Holmes injury.

Thornton’s parents and sister were on hand. His dad, Paul, is rehabbing after something went wrong during spinal surgery last month that left him temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. He left a hospital in Chicago to see his son pitch and planned to return to his Kansas home afterward.

“Super special just seeing him sitting there in his little wheelchair,” Thornton said. “It means everything to me. I mean he’s got his own battle that he has to put aside now. So we’re gonna get with him for the next 30 days and hopefully he can bounce back from his rehab.”

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Soto launched two home runs over the right-field wall at Nationals Park, boosting his OPS by nearly 50 points in a single game and pushing it above .950 on the season. It marked the 29th multi-homer game of his career, putting him in elite company among players under 28.

His first blast came in the top of the third. Soto turned on a 2-1 fastball and ripped a laser that crashed off the facade of the second deck, cutting the Mets’ deficit to two against what has suddenly become an offensive juggernaut in Washington.

After the at-bat, the Nationals broadcast suggested Soto should bunt his next time up. He did not bunt.

In the eighth inning, Soto struck again. This one traded the screaming line drive for pure moonshot theater, as he demolished a hanging 2-1 slider deep into the humid night sky. The projectile seemed to disappear into the darkness before blistering down and eventually settling into the second deck. Once again, the homer brought the Mets within two.

They got no closer. The consecutive losses sting, especially after the momentum the Mets had built in the previous series, but Soto remains the silver lining. He’s seeing the ball exceptionally well right now. Even his first at-bat of the night, officially a flyout, nearly left the yard.

“I can do damage,” Soto said postgame. “I can do a lot of damage, and I can help the team to be where it needs to be.”

The 27-year-old now has five home runs and nine RBIs over his last seven games. His underlying metrics remain absurd, ranking in the 90th percentile or higher in expected slugging, hard-hit rate, barrels, and square-ups, and that’s with a “slow” start.

Soto currently sits in the 86th percentile in batting run value: His full-season finishes haven’t sat below the 98th percentile since his rookie season in 2018. So, things may be rough right now, but one thing is certain: Juan Soto will show up, and damage will be done.

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