Fastball

Juan Soto is Doing Things He's Never Done Before at the Plate

The Mets dropped their first game out of the gate in the second-half, but Soto continued his solid season in the batters box.
Brady Farkas|
New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto (22) follows through on a solo home run against the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning at Citi Field on July 18.
New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto (22) follows through on a solo home run against the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning at Citi Field on July 18. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

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New York Mets

The New York Mets dropped the first game out of the All-Star break on Friday night, falling 8-4 against the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field. The loss puts them at 55-43 and sends them to 0.5 games back of the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East race.

Despite the defeat, Juan Soto continues to excel for New York, going 1-for-4 with a home run, his 24th of the season.

According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com, Soto's 24 blasts are the most he's ever had through a team's 98 games. His home run was also the hardest of his career at 115.0 mph.

In the first year of a 15-year deal, Soto is hitting .262 while posting a .909 OPS. His 24 home runs pair with 57 RBIs. He forms one of the best trios in the National League with Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor, and that group should have the Mets competing the rest of the year for a division title. New York advanced to the National League Championship Series in 2024.

The Reds are now 51-47 and 2.5 games back of the the third and final wild card spot in the National League. They have won three consecutive games.

The two teams will play again on Saturday afternoon with first pitch at 4:10 p.m. ET. The Mets will send Clay Holmes to the mound while the Reds counter with Nick Martinez.

Holmes is 8-4 with a 3.31 ERA, while the veteran Martinez is 7-9 with a 4.78 ERA.

Related MLB Stories

TITO 2K: Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona won the 2,000th game of his career on Sunday and the baseball world poured in with congratulations. CLICK HERE:

DIFFICULT SCHEDULE REMAINING: The Cincinnati Reds are battling, just 2.5 games back in the National League wild card race, but they have the toughest schedule remaining in the second half. CLICK HERE:

EASY PICKINGS: On the other side, which playoff contender has the easiest schedule remaining? CLICK HERE:

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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