Juan Soto hits first two homers at Citi Field in Mets' loss to Diamondbacks: 'I don't have any pressure'

Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News on May 1, 2025

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — Carlos Mendoza could see the signs.

Even as Juan Soto endured a prolonged power outage, the Mets manager believed Soto was nearing a breakout. He pointed to Soto’s recent exit velocity and the quality of his at-bats.

On Thursday afternoon against the Arizona Diamondbacks, that breakout came to fruition. Soto struck two home runs, including his first at Citi Field as a member of the Mets.

But Soto’s solo shots were not enough to prevent a 4-2 loss on a day the rest of the offense struggled and Mets ace Kodai Senga lasted only four innings.

“We knew he was close,” Mendoza said of Soto. “When you’ve got a guy that controls the strike zone as well as he does, continues to hit the ball hard even when he goes 0-for, I’ve been saying it for the past couple of days.”

The Mets were down 2-0 in the sixth inning when Soto sent a 391-foot blast off of Arizona ace Zac Gallen over the wall in left-center.

That home run came in Soto’s 57th at-bat and 68th plate appearance at Citi Field.

Soto’s second homer in Queens came one at-bat later, when he smoked a 399-foot drive against reliever Kevin Ginkel to the same part of the ballpark, cutting the Mets’ deficit to 3-2 in the eighth.

“It feels good, always, to come through and help the team,” Soto said.

Thursday snapped a 14-game homer-less drought for Soto, who recorded an RBI for the first time in 10 games. It was his first multi-homer game as a Met.

Soto got off to a slow start after joining the Mets on a record-setting 15-year, $765 million contract in the winter. With Thursday’s outburst, Soto is hitting .252 with five home runs, 14 RBIs and an .822 OPS through 32 games.

Asked if Thursday’s performance removed any pressure, Soto replied, “What pressure? I don’t have any pressure.”

“Mendoza has been really clear with me to make me feel comfortable and going out there and playing,” Soto said. “I don’t have any pressure at all. It’s just two homers that weren’t enough to get the win.”

Thursday’s start was a grind for Senga, who was one of several Mets players to deal with a flu-like illness this week. He needed 87 pitches to get through four innings and allowed one run, five hits and three walks.

“We sent him home yesterday and he felt a lot better, but we didn’t know until, like, yesterday [that he would start],” Mendoza said. “He came in and said, ‘I’m good to go,’ and today he got an IV and gave us what he had.”

The Diamondbacks nearly inflicted more damage on Senga.

With two outs and the bases loaded in the fourth, Corbin Carroll fouled off three consecutive 2-2 fork balls before he lifted a 365-foot drive to left field. But Brandon Nimmo made a leaping catch at the wall, likely preventing three runs from scoring.

“Not great,” Senga said of how he felt from a sickness standpoint. “But I made the decision to go out there and pitch.”

The four innings marked a season low for Senga, who fell to 3-2 with a 1.38 ERA in six starts.

The short start came at an inopportune time for the Mets, who deployed a bullpen game in Wednesday’s 4-3 loss amid a stretch of 13 games in as many days.

Thursday marked the second game in a row in which the Mets used four relievers. Those included newly called-up left-hander Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a run in one-third of an inning after replacing Senga.

Max Kranick and Reed Garrett also allowed one run apiece.

Gallen, meanwhile, held the Mets to one run over six innings and struck out eight.

The right-hander similarly stifled the Yankees over 6 2/3 shutout innings in the Bronx last month. He is now 2-0 with an 0.71 ERA in two starts in New York this year, compared to 0-4 with a 7.01 ERA in his other five outings.

The Mets had a chance to break through against the Diamondbacks’ bullpen, but with two runners in scoring position in the eighth, Ginkel struck out Mark Vientos and Nimmo to preserve a one-run lead.

The Mets finished 0 for 2 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base, a day after they went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13 in Wednesday’s loss.

“I wouldn’t say [I’m] concerned, but we’ve got to do a better job,” Mendoza said, adding, “Today, we didn’t create many chances. That’s the difference. Yesterday, we had a lot of traffic.”

The Mets won Tuesday night’s series opener, 8-3, before dropping the next two games. They had won their previous 10 series at Citi Field — a streak that dated back to August.

Next up is a six-game road trip, which begins Friday night in St. Louis. Clay Holmes (3-1, 2.64 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Mets, while Sonny Gray (3-0, 3.60) is set to pitch for the Cardinals.