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, 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 to the Arizona Diamondbacks on a day Mets ace Kodai Senga lasted only four innings and the rest of the offense struggled.
The Mets trailed, 2-0, when Soto sent a 391-foot drive over the wall in left-center against Arizona co-ace Zac Gallen.
That home run came in Soto’s 57th at-bat and 68th plate appearance at Citi Field since he signed a record-setting 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets in the winter.
Soto didn’t have to wait long for his second homer in Queens.
That came in his next at-bat, when he smoked a 399-foot blast against reliever Kevin Ginkel to the same part of the ballpark, cutting the Mets’ deficit to 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth.
The big swings snapped a 14-game homerless drought for Soto and gave him his first RBI in 10 games.
Thursday marked the first multi-homer game in a Mets uniform for Soto, who now has five home runs and 14 RBI this season.
The rest of the Mets’ offense, however, failed to get going.
Mark Vientos struck out with runners on second and third to end the eighth, capping an afternoon in which the Mets went 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position and stranded seven men on base.
Thursday’s start was a grind for Senga, who needed 87 pitches to get through four innings.
While Senga limited the D-Backs’ loaded lineup to one run – on Alek Thomas’ fourth-inning RBI single – the damage could have been far worse.
With two outs and the bases loaded in the fourth, Corbin Carroll fouled off three consecutive 2-2 forkballs from Senga before he lifted a 365-foot drive to left field.
But Brandon Nimmo tracked it down, leapt and collided with the wall as he secured the catch, likely preventing three runs from scoring.
Senga surrendered five hits and three walks with six strikeouts. He needed 59 pitches to get through his final two frames.
The four innings marked a season low for Senga, who fell to 3-2 with a 1.38 ERA in six starts.
The short outing 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.
On Thursday, the Mets used four relievers, including newly called-up left-hander Genesis Cabrera, who replaced Senga and gave up a run in one-third of an inning.
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 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 starts.
The Mets had won 10 consecutive series at Citi Field before dropping two out of three to the Diamondbacks, whom they beat in Tuesday’s opener before losing on Wednesday night.
They went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base in Wednesday’s loss.
Next up for the Mets 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.
