Mets’ Juan Soto gets Citi Field standing ovation, then snaps skid with clutch hit
NY Post
Fans at Citi Field already were growing restless over Juan Soto’s early season slump, but many in the home crowd stood and cheered the $765 million man as he strode to the plate with a runner on third base and the Mets trailing by one run in the fifth inning Friday night.
Those cheers grew louder when the skidding Soto ripped an 0-1 changeup to right field for a game-tying RBI single against St. Louis starter Miles Mikolas in an eventual 5-4 win over the Cardinals on Francisco Lindor’s walk-off homer in the ninth.
“The crowd is embracing Soto, and I love that they’re embracing him because he’s gonna be with us for a very long time,” said Lindor, who similarly struggled to open his Mets tenure in 2021. “He’s a fantastic teammate and a fantastic player.
“So I know at any point, he’s gonna make something happen. Every at-bat for him, it feels like he’s in every at-bat. And to see him come through like that, you kind of expect it because he’s that good. … I’m happy that the fans are embracing him and showing him love because he deserves it.”
The run-scoring single and a subsequent walk in the seventh came on the heels of a 2-for-24 skid, including two grounders to first base in his first two trips.
The slide dropped Soto’s batting average to .214 with just three home runs, albeit two in the previous four games.
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