HOUSTON — It’s not often you see Mets slugger Juan Soto wave his bat feebly at a pitch.
With the Mets trailing 3-1 in the ninth inning, fans witnessed Soto do just that, chasing a Josh Hader slider that landed down-and-away, striking out with two runners on to end the game in an Opening Day loss.
It wasn’t the pitch Soto was expecting to see from Hader, who had worked the count full before the strikeout.
What was Soto expecting to see?
“His best pitch,” Soto told reporters in the Mets locker room. “His best pitch is the fastball, so I was sitting on the fastball.”
BUY METS TICKETS: STUBHUB, VIVID SEATS, TICKETMASTER
The at-bat started just the way Soto wanted. After working the count to 3-0, he let the fourth pitch of the at bat fall for a strike right down the middle.
Soto fouled the next pitch, a 3-1 four-seamer high in the zone, straight back — 3-2.
“I thought that 3-1 fastball that he fouled off,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said, “he put an A-swing there and just missed it.”
This resulted in Soto stepping out of the box with a smile and nodding his head, a sign that he had Hader’s number.
“He’s showing me really good pitches (and) I’m seeing it really well,” Soto said he was thinking in the moment.
With the count full, Soto was ready to win the game for the Mets. He mistook the previous fastball for a challenge from Hader. Instead, it was the perfect set-up pitch to end the Mets’ day in defeat.
It wasn’t the only mistake Soto made on the day.
He was 1-for-1 with a single and a walk when he stepped into the batter’s box in the fifth inning with an opportunity to put the Mets, trailing 3-0, on the board.
With Luis Torrens at second, Soto misread a wild pitch, which bounced off the wall behind the plate. Soto waved for Torrens to take third base, but quickly realized he had made a mistake.
Astros catcher Yanier Díaz quickly recovered, catching Torrens at third for the final out of the inning. The fans in Houston cheered loudly as Soto’s face was projected on the Jumbotron. All he could do was smile, an acknowledgement of his error.
“I was expecting to win the game,” Soto said. “It’s definitely not what we wanted.”
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.
Manny Gómez may be reached at mgomez@njadvancemedia.com.
