Mets' Juan Soto pounds Yankees as Subway Series shifts to Queens

Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News on Jul 4, 2025

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — It didn’t take long for Juan Soto to reverse his Subway Series fortune.

Seven weeks after he was booed relentlessly by Yankees fans during a rough weekend in the Bronx, the Mets slugger launched a two-run home run in Friday afternoon’s first inning as the interborough rivalry shifted to Citi Field.

Soto admired the 393-foot blast off of Marcus Stroman, then savored a slow trot around the bases in a theatrical moment fit for Broadway.

And that was only the beginning.

Soto went 3 for 4 and scored twice in the Mets’ 6-5 win over the Yankees, finishing a triple shy of the cycle against his former team.

“I just feel good right now,” Soto said afterward. “I’m seeing the ball really well. I’m trying to take my chances. When I swing the bat, I’m trying to do damage every time.”

The Mets trailed, 2-0, after Jasson Domínguez and Aaron Judge began the game with back-to-back home runs against Justin Hagenman.

But Soto’s shot over the left-center wall quickly evened the score.

“That was a setting-the-tone moment,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “They punch, we’re gonna punch back. … Back-to-back for them, and then our guy hits it and it’s game on.”

Soto also doubled in the third inning, then scored on Pete Alonso’s RBI single. He added a single in the fifth, then flew out to the left-field warning track in the seventh.

It was a far cry from Soto’s series at Yankee Stadium in mid-May, when he went 1 for 10 with four walks and three strikeouts.

Those games in the Bronx were Soto’s first against the Yankees since he left them in the offseason for a record-setting 15-year, $765 million contract with the crosstown Mets.

The departure turned Soto into a villain in the Bronx, and Yankees fans let him know it throughout the series there.

Fans in the right-field bleachers turned their backs to Soto in a coordinated protest, then showered him with jeers that ranged from a modest “overrated” to the much more obscene. One fan told the New York Daily News he took a six-hour bus ride from Keeseville, N.Y., just to boo Soto. Others taped Ben Rice’s name over Soto’s on their pinstriped No. 22 jerseys.

But the vibe was much different at Friday’s series opener in Queens.

Before Soto’s first plate appearance, many within a crowd of 41,216 gave him a standing ovation. Yankees fans in attendance booed Soto before each at-bat, but the Mets faithful largely drowned them out.

And while Soto said he didn’t notice the standing ovation, he expressed gratitude for the fans’ support.

“Great vibes,” Soto said. “I felt the fans showed up today and showed the love that they’ve been doing since day one.”

Soto got off to a slow start with the Mets, batting .231 with nine homers and a .770 OPS in his first 57 games.

But Soto has been red hot ever since.

He won National League Player of the Month for June after hitting 11 homers with a 1.196 OPS. Friday’s home run was Soto’s 21st of the season, matching his pace from last year, when he hit a career-high 41.

Following his Fourth of July fireworks, Soto’s season batting average was up to .266, while his OPS was up to .915.

“Every time he’s at the plate,” Mendoza said, “you feel good about your chances.”

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