KANSAS CITY — For all of the consternation, negative narratives and dizzying gossip that have surrounded Juan Soto since the start of the season, the Mets superstar right fielder will end the first half of the 2025 campaign with numbers similar to what he’s posted in the first half of previous seasons.
A two-run homer off of Kansas City Royals right-hander Jonathan Bowlan led the Mets to a 3-1 victory on Saturday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. It was the 23rd of the season for Soto, tying his career-high mark for the first half of a season and matching his pre-All-Star break total last year with the Yankees.
But sure, he hates the Mets and hates being a part of them, at least that’s what the internet says.
Whatever you believe about the 26-year-old who signed the largest contract the sport has ever seen in December, this much is true: The Mets are a better team with Soto.
He may not have gotten hot right out of the gate, but the Mets preached patience, citing the expected numbers. According to Statcast, his expected numbers are about what they were last season and on par with his career numbers.
There are statistical deviations in every season. Last year, Soto’s 180 wRC+ meant he created 80% more runs than league average when adjusted for park. This year, it’s 57% after the first half of the season, which might be down from last year, but it’s about average for his career (158 wRC+). His .275 BaBIP also suggests some bad luck.
But he didn’t need any luck in the fourth inning against the Royals. A player known for his exceptional patience at the plate, Soto worked the count full on Bowlan (1-2) before smashing a slider 435 feet to right field with one on and none out, his second home run in as many days.
Right-hander Michael Lorenzen, the scheduled starter, came down with an illness overnight, forcing Kansas City to throw a bullpen game. The Mets struggled to put runners on base facing a different right-hander every inning or two after that, forcing right-hander Frankie Montas to pitch with only a two-run lead. Finally, they got separation in the bottom of the ninth when Pete Alonso hit a one-out double off right-hander Lucas Erceg, and Jeff McNeil’s pinch-hit single sent him home.
Montas gave up back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the sixth to make it a one-run lead, and was then replaced by Reed Garrett, who retired the Royals’ 2-4 hitters to strand Jonathan India.
In just his fourth start of the season, Montas earned the win (2-1), limiting Kansas City to one earned run on four hits with five strikeouts.
In the bottom of the seventh, rookie right fielder Jac Caglianone, the ninth-rated prospect in baseball before his big league call-up in June, sent a cutter from right-hander Chris Devenski 406 feet to center field with one on and none out. It would have been a two-run moonshot in most ballparks, but Kauffman has extra-deep dimensions and an extremely manse outfield. Tyrone Taylor tracked it down at the warning track for the first out.
Still, Devenski got into a jam with runners on the corners and two outs, but Luisangel Acuña helped him get out of it. The speedy second baseman nabbed a ball that got past a diving Pete Alonso at first base, and flipped it to Devenski for the out.
Edwin Diaz worked a six-out save (19) to secure the series win for the Mets (55-41). Kansas City (46-50) will remain in the thick of the AL Wild Card race throughout the next few weeks, but with one more game until the break, the Mets can take solace in ending the first half on a high note, and knowing Soto is nothing short of the player they thought they were getting.
