The past few weeks have certainly not been the easiest for the New York Mets, as they saw their competition for the third and final Wild Card spot in the National League inch closer and closer to them amid what was shaping up to be a painful late season collapse. But they seem to have righted the ship in recent days, as they took their second consecutive victory with an 8-3 win over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.
The Mets took off with a five-run first inning against the Padres on Tuesday and did not look back, and with that win, they managed to keep the hard-charging Arizona Diamondbacks at bay at 1.5 games back of them in the standings.
While Juan Soto did not do a lot to garner headlines, as he went just 1-4 with his lone hit on the night coming in that first inning avalanche, that was enough for him to make history in his first season with the Mets. He ended the night with 40 home runs, 32 stolen bases, and 114 runs scored, and that makes him just the second player in MLB history to notch at least 40 long balls, 30 stolen bases, and 110 runs in their first season since changing teams in free agency, joining Shohei Ohtani, as pointed out by Jon Morosi of MLB Network.
Soto did endure a bit of a slow start to the 2025 season, with some calling the Mets' decision to splurge on him an ill-advised one. But Soto is nothing if not consistent, and he's been a major addition to the Mets lineup — an on-base machine who is also one of the best power producers in the game. He's also been at his best on the basepaths, with his current tally of 32 stolen bases beating his previous career-best over a single season by 20.
Juan Soto and the Mets look to hold on to a playoff spot
It was an eight-game losing streak that gave the Mets so many reasons to be anxious; it did look like their spiral was not going to end anytime soon, which would then open up the way for the Diamondbacks or even the San Francisco Giants to overtake them in the standings.
Nonetheless, the Mets have been preaching patience all the way, and they know that the only important thing is to get into the playoffs. Once they're in the postseason, anything can happen after all. And their play as of late, and against another likely playoff team in the Padres, suggests that they are bouncing back just in time.
