Mets crumble in loss to Padres as they hold their breath after Juan Soto scare

SAN DIEGO — The Mets’ offense was sputtering even before its most prized and expensive player sent a screaming foul ball off his foot that forced him from the game. 

Juan Soto exited early on a night the rest of the lineup might not have bothered showing up in a quiet, 7-1 loss to the Padres at a sold-out Petco Park on a Tuesday that the club hopes will be shrugged off as a scare and nothing more. 

The $765 million man — who has played in 107 of 108 games this season — smashed a foul ball off his left, back foot in the fourth inning and was in obvious pain. He hobbled his way halfway to first base before taking a knee, with a trainer and manager Carlos Mendoza running out to check on him. 

After several minutes of examination, Soto initially remained to finish his at-bat. He smacked a one-hopper to the right side and was robbed on a diving play from Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth, during which Soto ran to first base but not smoothly. 

By the bottom of the inning, Soto was replaced defensively. The Mets called the injury a foot contusion, and further information was not immediately available as the team, which entered San Diego on a seven-game winning streak, clinched a series defeat before Wednesday’s finale. 

The Mets’ offense totaled four hits against Ryan Bergert and five Padres pitchers, none of which came with runners in scoring position and none of which came from the quartet Steve Cohen has called the “Fab Four.” 

Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor, Soto and Pete Alonso have looked more like the Drab Four of late. Nimmo (0-for-3 with a walk) is 2-for-18 in his past four games. 

The slide has been longer for the batters behind him.

Lindor (0-for-4 with three strikeouts) is amid an 8-for-55 (.145) funk. Soto was 5-for-43 (.116) in his past 12 games before leaving. Alonso (0-for-3 with a walk) is 5-for-57 (.088) in his past 16 games. 

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The Mets had been winning anyway because of the depth of their order, but no one was able to step up Tuesday, when the Mets wasted a strong (but brief) outing from Sean Manaea. 

The lefty pitched five strong, one-run innings and walked off the mound in the fifth inning having retired 12 straight batters. As he walked to the dugout, he flashed one finger toward Mendoza, as if asking for one more inning — a chance to become the first non-David Peterson Mets starter to complete six innings since Clay Holmes on June 7. 

The plea was unsuccessful. Manaea was pulled after 86 pitches, and the game was soon out of hand. 

José Buttó allowed plenty of hard contact in the sixth inning, although the go-ahead hit came from a Jackson Merrill chopper that leapfrogged Alonso at first base and rolled down the line for what became a two-out, RBI triple that gave the Padres a 2-1 lead. 

After another silent frame from the Mets’ offense, the Padres ran away with a five-run seventh inning against Buttó and Chris Devenski, the largest blow a three-run home run from Manny Machado. 

The Mets’ best scoring opportunity came in a fifth inning in which they scored once but probably should have scored more. Brett Baty walked, moved to third on a single from Luis Torrens and Nimmo worked a walk to load the bases without an out. 

But the mightily struggling Lindor, who continues to arrive at the ballpark early for additional batting practice sessions, struck out. Mendoza, sensing the urgency, pulled Tyrone Taylor from the game for pinch-hitter Starling Marte, who managed to send a sacrifice fly to center for the Mets’ only run. 

Alonso then popped out in what was a rare Mets threat. 

The Mets finished with four hits — or merely double the two knocks that came from Jose Iglesias’ bat. The beloved former Met had a strong game that included a couple knocks and several impressive defensive plays. 

Playing third base, Iglesias recorded all three outs in the second inning, including a nice play on an Alonso ground ball and robbing Mark Vientos with a diving stab. Afterward, Iglesias stole a smile at the visiting dugout.