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Jorge CastilloMar 28, 2025, 09:47 PM ET
- ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
HOUSTON — It didn’t take long for Juan Soto to launch his first home run in a New York Mets uniform.
The star right fielder, playing in his second game with his new club, blasted a solo shot in the third inning against the Houston Astros in his sixth plate appearance of the season en route to a 3-1 win for the Mets at Daikin Park on Friday night.
“It’s always great to have the first one,” Soto said. “A lot of guys want to get the first one out of the way early and try to get that pressure off. So, I feel like it feels pretty good.”
Did he feel pressure before getting on the board in 2025?
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“No,” Soto said.
The home run off Hunter Brown, one of the sport’s most talented young pitchers, was another example of Soto’s otherworldly ability to hit baseballs, one that stems from an extraordinary blend of patience, power and IQ — and convinced the Mets to give him a 15-year, $765 million contract this offseason.
The pitch from Brown was a 96 mph cutter up and in, and out of the strike zone. It was a two-strike offering meant to put away a hitter. It was a pitch that a small fraction of players, even at the highest level, can barrel. Soto, it turns out, resides in that small fraction.
Soto recognized the pitch and squared it up with a convicted swing. The ball traveled 390 feet at 107.3 mph over the right-field wall, ricocheting off the second deck’s facade and back onto the field, to give New York a 3-0 lead.
“Pretty incredible,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Not easy to do. We’re talking about a pitch that’s out of the strike zone. Up and in. I think it’s a cutter, 96 [mph], and he’s able to hit it on a line like that. Amazing.”
After the game, Soto explained that he was looking for a pitch in that area, up and in, gleaning from information he gathered in the first three innings. He said teammates Jesse Winker and Brett Baty, also left-handed hitters, told him Brown felt comfortable throwing cutters up and in.
“So I was aware of that pitch, definitely,” said Soto, who finished 1-for-3 with a walk. “You’re hunting for something in the strike zone. He’s a guy who has a lot of ride [with his pitches]. But always aware of that pitch.”
Soto, who has been booed before each of his nine plate appearances in this series, had struck out in his previous two at-bats going back to the Mets’ season-opening loss Thursday when he went down swinging as the game-tying run for the final out against All-Star closer Josh Hader.
He exacted some revenge Friday with his first home run in orange and blue after clubbing a career-high 41 in his lone season with the New York Yankees in 2024.
“It’s Juan Soto,” Mendoza said. “He’s going to come through more times than not. What you want is to give him and the guys a chance to win a baseball game. We did that yesterday and didn’t get the W. Today, he came in and did what he did. He’s a special player.”
