9 hours ago
1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Mets’ best player this season isn’t headed to the All-Star game, so he’s putting on his own show before the break.
Juan Soto’s mammoth June has spilled over into a nearly as impressive July.
On Saturday the Mets used a mighty swing from the star right fielder and coupled it with a superb team pitching performance for a 3-1 victory over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
Soto’s second homer in as many games, a 435-foot rocket in the fourth inning, carried the Mets into the ninth — in which Jeff McNeil’s RBI single provided an insurance run.
Soto, who won National League Player of the Month honors for June, began the day with a .995 OPS this month.
But barring his late addition as an injury replacement on the NL roster, Soto won’t be in Atlanta on Tuesday to participate in the All-Star game.
First there is one last game before the break, and a chance for the Mets to complete a three-game sweep.
Sean Manaea, scheduled to follow Clay Holmes in a piggyback appearance, is set for his season debut.
On this day it was Frankie Montas, Reed Garrett, Chris Devenski and Edwin Diaz that handled the runs prevention. Diaz recorded the final six outs for the save.
Montas dominated into the sixth before allowing his only run. In his fourth start off the injured list, the right-hander surrendered four hits and struck out five over five innings, departing at 83 pitches with the Mets ahead 2-1.
The next step for Montas will be completing six innings. His longest outing of his four was the 5 2/3 innings he provided against the Yankees last weekend.
Soto launched a two-run homer in the fourth that gave the Mets a 2-0 lead.
Francisco Lindor singled leading off the inning and stole second before Soto jumped on a full-count slider from Jonathan Bowlan and hit it deep over the fence in right-center for his 23rd homer this season.
Montas allowed a leadoff double to Jonathan India in the first and then didn’t surrender another hit until the fourth, when Vinnie Pasquantino singled.
- CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND METS STATS
Kyle Isbel and India delivered consecutive doubles against Montas to start the sixth, pulling the Royals within 2-1.
Garrett entered and threw away a pickoff attempt of India at second base, moving the runner to third with nobody out before retiring the next three batters without the run scoring.
Devenski walked Salvador Perez leading off the bottom of the seventh and with one out drilled Nick Loftin.
But the right-hander recovered to preserve the Mets’ 2-1 lead by getting John Rave to hit into a fielder’s choice before Isbel grounded out, with Devenski covering first base to receive the throw from Luisangel Acuna.
Diaz retired six of the seven batters he faced and received a boost from an overturned call in the eighth.
Bobby Witt Jr. was originally ruled safe in his attempted steal of second, but the Mets won the challenge.
English (US)