Juan Soto turned around a disappointing debut season with the New York Mets by knocking the cover off the ball in June. Soto has been on fire this month, displaying his prodigious power. The All-Star right fielder tied Jimmie Foxx for the most multi-homer games before turning 27 with two blasts in an 11-4 win over the Phillies Saturday. In Wednesday’s game against the Atlanta Braves, Soto again hit two home runs, surpassing Foxx for the all-time record with his 27th multi-homer game.In addition to adding his name to the MLB record book, Soto’s June run has made Mets franchise history. With his two home runs against the Braves, Soto joined Darryl Strawberry as the only Mets players with 10 home runs and 20 walks in a calendar month, per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs. Strawberry accomplished the incredible feat in May 1987.
Juan Soto makes history with red-hot June
Soto now leads the Mets with 19 home runs. He also has a team-high 58 runs scored and MLB-best 66 walks.
Article Continues BelowThe four-time All-Star is finally looking like the player Mets fans thought they were getting when he signed a $765 million contract with the team over the offseason. Soto got off to a slow start as he adjusted to his new club. He slashed .231/.357/.413 with 9 home runs, 27 RBI and 36 runs scored through May 31.
But when the calendar flipped to June, Soto caught fire. He entered Wednesday’s contest slashing a scorching .315/.485/.685. He now has 10 home runs, 18 RBI and 22 runs scored in 23 games this month.
In addition to making Mets history with a historic June and surpassing Foxx for multi-homer games before the age of 27, Soto also recently joined Mickey Mantle and Mel Ott in an exclusive club. He’s now one of only three players in baseball history with 1,000 hits, 200 home runs and 700 walks before turning 27 years old. Soto picked up his 1,000th career hit against the Braves on June 19.
Despite Soto’s hot streak, the Mets have gone cold this month. Just two weeks ago New York held a 5.5 game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. But the team has lost 10 of its last 12 games, a span that included a seven-game losing streak. The skid cost the Mets control of the division as the Phillies overtook them for first place.
New York closes out its four-game series against the Braves Thursday hoping for a 2-2 split. Grant Holmes will take the mound for Atlanta while the Mets send out Griffin Canning.
