Juan Soto didn’t run into many rough spells in his lone season with the Yankees, so there’s no telling how The Bronx crowd would have reacted if Soto got off to a slow start.
But Soto acknowledged he was caught off guard by the ovation he received Friday night from the Citi Field crowd in the fifth inning, while in the middle of what’s been a lengthy slump — at least for him.
“One hundred percent,’’ Soto said Sunday, as to whether he was surprised by the reaction. “After the first at-bat, I thought, ‘Why are they getting up to cheer?’ ”
When he realized it was a form of encouragement, Soto said he “got excited.”
“It’s a great feeling,” Soto said. “When you have a fan base supporting you when you do bad or good, you really appreciate it. I feel they don’t know how meaningful that is. I feel like every player feels that way. It’s the same thing in the playoffs. The fans going crazy gives you more motivation and gets your adrenaline going.”
After the unexpected ovation that night, Soto ripped a run-scoring single.
In Saturday’s win, manager Carlos Mendoza said he saw a better swing from Soto than he’s seen at other points of the season, one that is shorter to the ball and allows him to drive the ball to the opposite field. The manager added he didn’t see Soto “flying open,’’ as he has at some points this season.
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And then on Sunday, as Soto and the Mets completed a four-game sweep of the Cardinals with a 7-4 win at Citi Field, the right fielder laced a two-run double to left-center that helped seal the game.
He finished the game with three RBIs, thanks to the speedy Tyrone Taylor scoring on Soto’s sacrifice fly to shallow left in the third and a single through the right side of the infield.
The 26-year-old hasn’t quite looked like the hitter the Mets expected when they gave him a 15-year, $765 million deal in December, but the team is continuing to win even without peak Soto.
His drive to the gap in left-center off right-hander Ryan Fernandez was a 106 mph shot that split the outfielders and showed off Soto’s power to all fields.
“We all know what he’s capable of,’’ Brandon Nimmo said. “He’s gonna be as hot as a firecracker here pretty soon. He’ll be fine. The biggest thing for him is to not try to do too much. Keep hitting doubles to right field and singles that will turn into homers.”
There’s no reason to believe they won’t, as Soto has been nothing if not consistent over the course of his career.
“There are going to be ups and downs,’’ Soto said. “It’s not always going to go great in a long season.”
But over the weekend, as the Mets stomped the Cardinals, Soto gave them reason to hope he would look like himself soon enough.
And perhaps some unlikely support from a fan base not always known for it may have helped.