Juan Soto’s Struggles at Bat Against Red Sox Ace

Juan Soto didn’t encounter his preferred pitch during his initial two at-bats on Wednesday night. Facing Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet, the Mets’ right fielder batted third—dropping down from his usual No. 2 spot—and saw a total of seven pitches in those first two appearances.

Of those pitches, six were strikes, and one was a ball, leading to a pair of strikeouts. It wasn’t the best showing for the Mets’ highly valued player, who, let’s face it, is expected to perform at a high level, especially considering his $765 million contract.

In his first at-bat, Soto struggled with positioning a runner at scoring distance. Fast forward two innings, and he managed to take a pitch inside before he encountered a sweeper, cutter, and fastball.

Now, Crochet typically dominates left-handed hitters, boasting an OPS of .218 and .593 against them. Yet, oddly enough, Soto has shown better numbers against lefties this year compared to Crochet’s performance against right-handers—his OPS is .952 against lefties versus Crochet’s .771 against righties.

This week has been loaded with headlines for Soto. Just last week, he faced boos from Yankees fans during the Subway Series, which was quite the experience, to say the least.

He’s been criticized by media members, fans, and commentators for not hustling on a groundout during “Sunday Night Baseball,” and there was chatter about his long single off the Green Monster not having him run quickly enough to first base before entering this matchup in Boston.

Prior to the game, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza explained his reasoning for moving Soto down in the batting order, stating it made sense to give the top hitters a chance to face left-handed pitching.

Mendoza remarked, “I’m not one to over-manipulate. I like consistency and want to provide opportunities for everyone, but today felt like a day for our key players to step up against lefties.”