All year, Mets fans have held their collective breath when Juan Soto has come to the plate in a big moment. It had been a season-long struggle with runners in scoring position for Soto, and while he has been much better in those situations lately, he still had not delivered one of those huge, memorable moments as a Met. Until Monday. Soto’s huge game was the catalyst in what turned out to be a 10-8 win over the Tigers.

Down 3-2 in the top of the fourth inning, a strike away from wasting a bases-loaded, no-out threat, Soto unloaded on a signature Charlie Morton curveball. The ball, which stayed too much in the zone, was blasted over the wall in right-center field for a grand slam. Just the second grand slam of his career, it was the first of Soto’s Mets career, and it turned a 3-2 score in favor of the Tigers to 6-3 in favor of the Mets.

Soto then delivered another massive moment at the top of the sixth, with the Tigers having tied the game since his slam two innings before. Against funky-throwing lefty Drew Sommers, Soto grounded a ball down the right field line and not only drove in two runs, but recorded his first triple of the season. Brandon Nimmo followed with an RBI single to give the Mets their ninth run of the game.

Even with Soto’s heroics and a total of nine runs through six innings, the Mets were still struggling to stay afloat. Sean Manaea delivered the typical grueling, ineffective start we’ve seen too often from him lately. The damage started immediately when Jahmai Jones led off the game with a no-doubt home run on the first pitch he saw.

Wenceel Pérez then took Manaea deep with a two-run shot in the third, putting the Tigers ahead of the Mets after Luis Torrens‘ two-run double had given the Mets the lead an inning prior. When Juan Soto responded with his grand slam to give Manaea a three-run cushion, Manaea went back out and allowed two runs and four hits in the fourth inning, being pulled with an out to go. He finished the game with five runs allowed in 3 2/3 innings, raising his ERA from an ugly 5.01 to an even worse 5.60. With Charlie Morton also being chased early, both teams were forced into early bullpen games with 11 combined runs already across through four innings.

The Mets went down in order in the top of the fifth inning, but the Tigers kept their foot on the gas and tied the game in the bottom of the inning. Gregory Soto allowed a couple of hits before Ryne Stanek was brought in with runners on the corners and one out. The Tigers were able to score easily when a Stanek pitch made it to the backstop, but the Mets avoided further trouble as Stanek allowed a flyout and a sharp lineout to end the inning.

With Soto and Nimmo combining to give the Mets another three-run lead in the sixth, the Mets added on an inning later in the seventh to put themselves ahead by four for the first time. An error and a walk put runners on first and second with no outs, and a Luis Torrens sacrifice bunt and a Brett Baty fielder’s choice groundout combined to score the Mets’ 10th run of the day.

The Mets’ four-run lead didn’t last long, though. Tyler Rogers had stabilized things a bit with a scoreless sixth inning, but the volatile Ryan Helsley made just five pitches in the seventh and allowed a run before coming out. The first two batters of the inning ambushed him on first-pitch fastballs and hit them hard, one of which was pulled for a double and one was lined for an out. Helsley then recorded a groundout before Zach McKinstry put another first pitch into play, knocking an RBI single to make it a 10-7 game. Brooks Raley bailed out Helsley by recording the final out of the inning to keep the Mets up three with six outs to go.

Raley remained in the game in the eighth and allowed the Tigers to cut into the lead once more, letting Jahmai Jones score after he led off the inning with a double. Raley recorded two outs but was pulled to allow Edwin Díaz to complete a four-out save with a two-run lead. Spencer Torkelson hit a long fly ball off Díaz, but Nimmo reeled it in in front of the wall in left field to complete the eighth.

Díaz had a couple of hard-hit balls against him in the ninth inning, one that went foul and missed a home run by inches, and one that was lined and caught in center field. Díaz, though, was his typical dominant self as he recorded two strikeouts to clinch a 10-8 Mets win. With the win, the Mets remain four games ahead of the Reds in the NL Wild Card Race.

Stat of the Game: A Couple of “Firsts” for Soto

Juan Soto’s huge game gave him a couple of firsts in a Mets uniform. His grand slam was not only his first as a Met, but it was his first home run as a Met with more than one runner on base. Soto also recorded his first triple as a Met after he had four a season ago with the Yankees.

Soto also tied his career-high for RBIs in a game with six, which he had previously recorded in 2023 when he was with the Padres.

Player of the Game: Juan Soto

The Mets needed all the run support they could get in this game with Sean Manaea making things difficult, and Juan Soto delivered. In five plate appearances, Soto went 2-for-3 with a grand slam, a triple, two walks, and six RBIs. It was one of his best games in a Mets uniform, and he now owns a .915 OPS on the season.

On Deck

The Mets will continue their series with the Tigers Tuesday evening, with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET. Nolan McLean (3-0, 0.89 ERA) takes the mound for New York, while Detroit’s starter is still to be determined. The game will air on SNY.