From the moment Juan Soto stepped to the plate in a New York Mets uniform, the Daikin Park crowd in Houston made sure to let him have it. All night long, the boos rained down â five plate appearances, five choruses of boo birds. But when Soto came up in the ninth, with everything on the line, the noise reached a deafening roar, as if the entire ballpark had been waiting for that moment all winter long.
With two outs, runners on the corners, and the game in the balance, Soto emerged as the potential hero in the ninth inning. Waiting for him was the Astros’ hard-throwing closer Josh Hader. Hader stumbled early, falling behind 3-0 to Soto, but he battled back to even the count. Hader’s payoff pitch was a nasty slider that tailed out of the strike zone, and Soto swung and missed. The proverbial Mighty Casey had struck out.
âOf course, as a competitor, he always wants to come through,â Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.
“His best pitch is the fastball,” Soto said postgame, as reported by NJ.com, “so I was sitting on the fastball.”
“We all want to do something in a big spot,” Soto continued. “We all try to get the knock and try to bring the runs in and try to help the day in any way. But, for me, I don’t mind taking a walk right there. I have Pete [Alonso] behind me, and he’s a really good power hitter.”
âI was expecting to win the game,â Soto added. âItâs not how we wanted it.”
For now, the $765 million-dollar man’s first true Mets moment will have to stay on hold for at least another day.
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