Juan Soto just missed a grand slam in Saturday night’s fourth inning, but unlike other near misses this season, this one didn’t land in somebody’s glove.
The ball hit high off the fence in right-center.
Soto raced to second base with a go-ahead, two-run double and the cheers he heard from much of the crowd moments earlier upon entering the batter’s box multiplied.
Soto needed it. The Mets needed it.
On this night, the star right fielder delivered the key hit in a 5-2 Mets victory over the Dodgers before 41,332 at Citi Field.
“It definitely feels better after so many hard balls hit, seeing one land is always good,” Soto said.
He entered the day only 5-for-42 (.119) with runners in scoring position.
The Mets as a team were 27th in MLB in that category at .213.
“This guy has been very unlucky,” manager Carlos Mendoza said, referring to Soto. “I feel like every time there’s runners on base there is a 110, 115 [mph] at somebody. It was good today to finally see him get the results. Not necessarily the approach, but just getting the results. We wanted it. He wanted it.”
Soto finished 2-for-5 on a night the Mets amassed 11 hits and won for the second time in three games. The rubber game of the series is Sunday night in this rematch from last year’s NLCS.
The Mets will also visit Dodger Stadium for four games on their next road trip.
- CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND METS STATS
David Peterson gave the Mets a strong outing and worked deep — with the bullpen on fumes a night after eight relievers were used in a 13-inning loss.
The left-hander went 7 ²/₃ innings and allowed two earned runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.
The outing was the longest by a Mets starting pitcher this season.
“He knew the assignment and that’s a big boy performance right there for him,” Mendoza said.
Edwin Díaz recorded the final four outs scoreless for the save.
It was Díaz’s second outing this season that lasted beyond one inning.
Peterson dented in the second, after plunking Tommy Edman to put runners on first and second with one out. Enrique Hernández’s ensuing single brought in the game’s first run before Dalton Rushing’s ground out placed the Mets in a 2-0 hole.
The Mets received their own hit-by-pitch to spark a rally in the bottom of the inning: Jared Young, in his first plate appearance in a Mets uniform — he was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse before the game — got drilled by Tony Gonsolin with two outs.
Tyrone Taylor singled before scorching Brett Baty delivered an RBI single that pulled the Mets within 2-1.
Soto’s two-run double highlighted a big fourth inning, in which the Mets scored three times for a 4-2 lead.
Luis Torrens singled leading off and Baty kept the inning alive by drawing a two-out walk.
Francisco Lindor walked to load the bases and Starling Marte’s check-swing grounder brought in a run.
Soto followed with a shot off the fence in right-center that scored two runs, before Marte was thrown out at the plate.
“When I hit it, I was like, ‘Just don’t catch it,’” Soto said. “I wasn’t thinking it was going that far. When it hit the wall, it actually shocked me. I was just hoping the ball lands.”
The Mets turned three double plays to help Peterson avoid trouble.
In the fourth, Hernández hit into an inning-ending double play after Edman had walked with two outs. In the sixth, Teoscar Hernández followed Mookie Betts’ leadoff single with a grounder that became a 6-4-3 double play.
In the seventh, Enrique Hernández hit into his second inning-ending double play of the night, this one started by Baty.
In the eighth, Baty crushed an RBI double off the left-field fence to bring in the Mets’ final run.
Baty finished 3-for-3 and with two RBIs and owns a 1.054 OPS since returning from Syracuse on May 5.
“He’s figured out his swing and I am really happy for him,” Soto said.