Juan Soto might have the near-$800 million contract from Steve Cohen’s New York Mets, but Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees had the last laugh on Friday.
Mets righty Tylor Megill, amidst a great start to his season, fell of a cliff in the third inning. He couldn’t even complete the inning and was charged four runs (all earned) on four hits in 2.2 innings. He struck out four and walked five. Four of his walks alone were in the third inning.
The Yankees, on the other hand, turned it into baseball by a thousand cuts. Paul Goldschmidt’s RBI infield single yielded an extra run following a Francisco Lindor throwing error. Anthony Volpe’s sac fly and Oswald Peraza’s bases-loaded walk made it 4-0. Goldy would later add another RBI single and raise his batting average to .349, still second in the AL behind Aaron Judge.
Juan Soto, on the other hand, had yet another uneventful game as a Met. He was 0 for 2 with three walks and a run scored, and flew out to center to end the game. His middling season continues. Soto is batting only .252 with eight homers and 20 RBI on the year.
It didn’t help that the Mets mounted a meager offensive effort from the start. Carlos Rodon returned to the dominant form he’s shown all year and allowed one run in five innings. He would have pitched deeper if not for four walks, but still has a 1.74 ERA in his last six starts.
It’s just one game in a meaningless series in a meaningless part of the season, but let’s be honest. New York fans love the Subway Series. The only difference is that unlike years past, it now means something. Juan Soto spent the 2024 season with the Yankees, set a new career-high in home runs batting in front of eventual MVP Aaron Judge, and made the World Series.
He then chose the Mets, thinking money could buy whatever he was chasing. An uninspired loss to his former team later, clearly not.
FOR FULL STORY ON STANDARD WEBSITE: Yankees take Round 1 of the Juan Soto Breakup Series | Elite Sports NY