Inspired by Knicks across town, Soto comes through in clutch

NEW YORK -- On Monday’s Mets off-day, Juan Soto went to Madison Square Garden to watch the Knicks play the Spurs in NBA Finals Game 3. Though the Knicks lost that game, Soto saw how fans reacted to every touch of the ball, every pass, every shot. He took note of the adulation all around the Garden.

“When you see the fans and how they get crazy like that, it always motivates you to be at the top,” Soto said. “It’s impressive. It’s motivating. I would love all my teammates to get to see how it was at Madison Square Garden for those Finals games.”

The Mets, still buried in last place in the National League East, have a long way to go to reach a similar point. They must demonstrate marked improvement over the next month just to avoid a potential Trade Deadline selloff. Thoughts of a deep October run to inspire New York City in similar ways are far from front of mind.

But in spite of everything, the Mets do still have Soto. That alone gives them a fighting chance.

Soto is their trump card, their everything -- their Jalen Brunson, as it were. He’s the player most likely to come through when the team needs it, most likely to rise above the mediocrity around him and deliver. He’s also the most likely Met to do it again and again and again.

So it was Thursday afternoon, with the hangover of NBA Finals Game 4 resting heavily above Citi Field. Soto hit a go-ahead homer off JoJo Romero in the seventh inning to lead the Mets to a 5-4 victory over the Cardinals, showing once again that he features some of the same DNA as those other athletes making headlines across the East River.

“If I’m playing ‘MLB: The Show’ and creating a player, I don’t waste my time trying to create one,” said Mets reliever Luke Weaver. “I just pick Juan Soto.”

Perhaps the only surprise on Thursday was that Soto took so long to deliver. The early afternoon featured plenty of fireworks from both teams, including a combined five home runs before the Mets recorded an out in the top of the second. Things settled down from there, however, until Soto doubled with one out in the fifth and Jared Young drove him home as the game-tying run.

Two innings later, Soto crushed a hanging Romero sweeper into the visiting bullpen, allowing the Mets to salvage the finale of their three-game series against the Cardinals.

“That’s what we play for, that’s what we grind for -- to get the tough situations and come through,” Soto said. “Sometimes, it gets a little harder, but that’s what we work for and that’s what we focus [on, is to] try to do damage every time.”

The home run was Soto’s 14th of the season, despite his having missed two and a half weeks to a calf strain in April. But that’s not to say the rest of his season has been consistent. In his first 19 games after returning from injury, Soto looked mortal, with three home runs and a .745 OPS. Over his next 15 games, Soto was spectacular, with nine homers and a 1.342 OPS. Once the calendar flipped to June, Soto again lost his edge, going 3-for-32 without an extra-base hit until the fifth inning Thursday.

Manager Carlos Mendoza noted that the rest of the Mets “felt it a bit” as Soto scuffled, unable to generate much offense without him. That, of course, is what makes Soto so crucial to what the Mets are trying to do. Particularly with Francisco Lindor still sidelined with a strained left calf muscle, the Mets’ offense goes as Soto goes. When he’s not hitting, they struggle to win. When he is, they at least have a chance.

While a humid, weekday afternoon game against the Cardinals may not be quite the same stage as Madison Square Garden for the NBA Finals, it’s easy to envision Soto performing in a similar spot.

“There’s a sense of urgency from him all the time,” Mendoza said. “He wants to win. And he cares, obviously. But I wouldn’t call it pressure. This guy wants to be the biggest at-bat. He wants to be the guy. But I don’t think he takes it as, ‘Man, I have to perform for this team to get the job done.’ I think he goes out there, he prepares and he plays his game.”