【カージナルス4−5メッツ】ニューヨーク／メッツ 6月11日（日本時間12日）
どんなに苦しい状況でも、メッツにはフアン・ソトがいる。
ソトはメッツにとって希望で、まさに切り札的な存在だ。チームが必要とする場面で結果を残し、流れを引き寄せる。しかも、それを一度ではなく何度も繰り返してきた。
この日も、その勝負強さを見せつけた。
前夜のNBAファイナル第4戦の熱気が街に残る中、ソトは七回にジョジョ・ロメロから勝ち越しの14号ソロを放ち、チーム勝利に貢献した。
序盤は乱打戦で、メッツが二回に最初のアウトを奪うまで、両チーム合わせて5本塁打が飛び出した。しかし、その後は投手陣が踏ん張り、試合は接戦へもつれ込んだ。
ソトは五回１死で二塁打を放つと、続くジャレッド・ヤングの適時打で同点のホームを踏み、反撃の口火を切ると、迎えた七回。ロメロが投じた甘く入ったスイーパーを見逃さず、鋭く振り抜いた打球は、そのまま右翼方向のビジターブルペンへ。勝ち越しの14号ソロとなり、メッツはカージナルスとの3連戦最終戦を制した。
4月にはふくらはぎの張りで約2週間半離脱したが、それでも今季14本塁打目。勝負どころで決定的な一打を放ち、チームの顔として活躍している。
メッツは現在、ナ・リーグ東地区の最下位に沈み、巻き返しにはまだ長い道のりが残る。この1カ月で明確な改善を見せなければ、トレード期限で“売り手”に回る可能性もある。ポストシーズン進出を語る段階には、まだない。
チームが苦しい時こそ、最後に頼りになるのはソト。そんなことを改めて印象づける一発となった。
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.”