Through 31 games, Washington Nationals 23-year old slugger Juan Soto had one of the more peculiar stat lines. Despite having six home runs, Soto had a mere eight RBIs. All six of his homers were solo shots.
Soto had 52 plate appearances with men on base. However, he produced just one double and two RBIs.
All of that changed in the first inning of Wednesday’s game against the New York Mets. Following a leadoff single by Cesar Hernandez, Soto crushed a two-run homer off Mets’ starter Tylor Megill while on one knee.
The moonshot traveled 411 feet over the wall in right-center. Soto’s first home run with men on couldn’t come at a better time. The Nationals were in a 3-0 hole after just the top frame of the first.
Soto’s homer sparked a five-run rally in the bottom of the first, as the Nats stormed back to take a 5-3 lead by the end of the inning.
Even with seven homers and 10 runs batted in, Soto is off to a slow start compared to his standards. Some of his lack of production can be attributed to him batting second in the order.
His opportunities to drive in runs beside himself have seemingly diminished. Not to mention, with less chances with a runner on base, Soto isn’t getting his fair share of pitches to hit. A year after leading MLB with 145 walks, he’s been a league-most 24 times this season.
