No Soto, no problem: Short-handed Mets erupt again in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO -- Maybe the Mets were not just reciting platitudes when they said they had enough talent in the room to overcome Juan Soto’s absence as he dealt with a mild right calf strain.

The Mets have scored 17 runs in 17 frames since Soto went down in the first inning of Friday night’s win against the Giants. Moreover, one of the outfielders tasked with replacing Soto, Tyrone Taylor, punctuated Saturday night’s 9-0 victory at Oracle Park with a pinch-hit three-run homer in a five-run fifth inning, his first hit of the year.

Taylor added an RBI single in the seventh for his fourth RBI, helping to power New York to its second two-game win streak of the season and consecutive games scoring double-digit runs, a first since June 16-17, 2024.

Nolan McLean and Clay Holmes contributed superb starts in the victories, which should not be overlooked. On Saturday, Holmes lasted seven scoreless innings for the first time in his 37 Major League starts.

It’s one thing to say you can score runs without a superstar like Soto. Backing it up should inspire confidence in the clubhouse, and even the players believe this lineup has plenty of that no matter who is missing.

“Just a bunch of studs,” Taylor said. “We’ve got some really good players in this lineup. They can make a pitcher throw nine pitches and then rocket a ball at any given at-bat.”

The Mets also have shown versatility in the field, which helps manager Carlos Mendoza when a key player goes down.

Mark Vientos moved to first base when Jorge Polanco had to sit with left Achilles tendinitis. Polanco returned to the lineup Saturday, but as the DH. Vientos has played solidly despite relatively little experience at first base while going 7-for-14 with a homer in his past four games. With Vientos playing first, Mendoza moved infielder Brett Baty to the outfield with no ill effects.

Contrast that with the Giants, who were forced into playing outfielder Jerar Encarnacion at first base due to injuries, a move that rookie manager Tony Vitello hoped to avoid. Encarnacion had played 13 innings at first base before this season, and it showed in the second inning Saturday when two plays he failed to make contributed to a three-run Mets rally against right-hander Landen Roupp.

“We all know we have enough talent in this room where we don’t have to lean on one person,” Holmes said. “When you see the whole lineup putting up good at-bats and getting hits, driving people in, it just takes a little pressure off you.”

The Mets turned the game into a rout in the five-run fifth. Roupp struggled to get the third out, leading to RBI singles by Baty and Vientos that chased the starter. When the Giants brought in left-hander Ryan Borucki, Mendoza countered with the right-handed Taylor, who was hitless in nine at-bats this year.

Taylor sent a 1-2 splitter a Statcast-projected 419 feet for his first pinch-hit homer since April 11, 2024, and an 8-0 Mets lead.

Holmes lowered his ERA over two starts to 1.42, while Tobias Myers came on in the eighth to complete New York's combined three-hitter.