Soto hits second slam, ties career high with 6 RBIs to power Mets

DETROIT – Juan Soto, coming off a hot August, started September with a bang. He propelled the Mets to a 10-8 win over the Tigers at Comerica Park on Monday with his second career grand slam in the fourth inning and a two-run triple in the sixth.

Soto tied his career high of six RBIs that he accomplished Sept. 17, 2023, for the Padres in Oakland. He happened to connect for his only other grand slam among 237 career homers in that game, when he added a two-run homer.

Every win is critical in the final month of the season for the Mets (74-64), who trail the Phillies (80-58) by six games in the National League East. They remained four games ahead of the Reds (70-68) for the third and final NL Wild Card spot.

“These are the moments,” said Soto. “Whoever gets hot in September is the team that goes all the way. … So this is the right time to get hot.”

It was a banner game for Soto, who leads the Mets with 36 homers, 104 runs, a .915 OPS, a .518 slugging percentage and 5.1 WAR per Baseball Reference. He also leads the Majors with 113 walks after two more Monday.

“Man, that’s pretty impressive,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of Soto’s latest show. “I don’t think anyone is surprised by it. But when you see it day in and day out for a long period of time, it’s like, ‘Man, this guy can put a team [on his back] and carry it.’ And that’s what he’s doing.”

Soto had 10 homers, 22 RBIs, 27 runs, 27 walks and 11 steals in August. He broke Mickey Mantle’s Major League record of games with at least one home run and one walk before turning 27 with his 116th Monday.

“His ability to control the strike zone – it’s a show, man,” said Mendoza. “Every time he’s at the plate, you want to watch that.”

Mendoza added that Soto’s now “the complete package” after entering June with only nine homers and 27 RBIs – good but not great numbers. He has 27 homers and 63 RBIs since.

Tigers starter Charlie Morton had been wriggling out of trouble by getting the Mets to chase his low and generally out-of-the-zone curveballs. Brett Baty and Francisco Lindor had gone down swinging on that offering before Soto came to bat with the bases loaded and two out in the fourth.

Morton couldn’t have picked a worse time to hang Uncle Charlie. Soto – who struck out on a low curve with two on and two out in the second – was down 1-2 when Morton’s curve came right down the middle. Soto treated it like a ball on a tee, lofting it a Statcast-projected 419 feet at 108 mph into the bleachers beyond the high wall in right-center.

What flashed through Soto’s mind when he saw the hanger?

“I mean, even for his age [41], his curveball is still really nasty,” said Soto. “I feel like he just made one mistake … and we hit the mistakes, and we try to do damage with it.”

Soto stood and admired his work before flicking his bat vigorously, end over end.

Many of the 38,912 fans booed loudly as Soto trotted around the bases before softly touching home and slapping high-fives with Jeff McNeil (who doubled), Cedric Mullins (who walked) and Luis Torrens (who singled). Soto placed the exclamation point on the celebration with a fiery low-five outside the dugout with first baseman Pete Alonso.

“I definitely try to focus on the game," Soto said of the boos. "They have a lot to say out there. So I just try to laugh and wipe it off and focus.”

That slam gave the Mets a 6-3 lead, but starter Sean Manaea allowed two runs in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to one. Left-handed reliever Gregory Soto yielded the tying run in the fifth, but Soto gave New York the lead for good with his triple, pulling the ball into the right-field corner off rookie lefty Drew Sommers.

When Soto returned to the dugout after his second go-ahead extra-base hit, a small group of Mets fans seated nearby stood and applauded him with zeal.

Soto’s face lit up when asked about the crucial RBIs.

“One of the best things you can do as a baseball player is come up clutch for your team and help them to win the game,” Soto said.