BOSTON — The Mets have sloppiness to clean up, but Juan Soto doesn’t view his level of hustle as part of the problem.
For a second straight night, the star Mets outfielder was caught in quicksand running to first base. This time it was a shot he thought would clear the Green Monster for a homer but hit the wall, leaving him with a single in the sixth inning due to his late departure from the batter’s box.
Soto eventually reclaimed the base with a steal of second, but it was poor optics for a player who hasn’t exactly carried the Mets offense, including an anemic performance during the Subway Series in his return to Yankee Stadium last weekend.
After the Mets’ 3-1 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park, he was asked if he needed to be more aware of running hard to first base.
“I think I have been hustling very hard,” Soto said. “If you saw it today, you could tell.”
A night earlier, Soto hit a grounder to second base in The Bronx and slowed to a jog on a ball that was bobbled. Soto restarted his jets, but was too late to beat the throw.
Though Soto doesn’t see an issue, manager Carlos Mendoza views it differently.
“We’ll talk to him about it,” Mendoza said. “Tonight, obviously when someone gets a hold of [a pitch] and knows when he gets it, it’s Juan. He thought he had it, but with the wind … but in this ballpark and anywhere in particular, with that wall right there, you have got to get out of the box. So, yeah, we’ll discuss that.”
Soto’s hustle (or lack thereof) wasn’t the only eyesore for the Mets, who in losing for the fourth time in five games were 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. The Mets have been limited to three runs or fewer in six straight games.
Soto, who finished 1-for-10 last weekend against the Yankees, hit into a double play to kill a third-inning rally Monday.
“I feel like we have got to capitalize as a team,” Soto said. “We have got to go out there and try to get those guys in. We are doing a pretty good job of getting guys on, but today we have got to come through.”
Kodai Senga rebounded after a shaky beginning to finish at three earned runs allowed on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks over six innings. It marked the first time this season Senga surrendered three earned runs in a start.
Senga, on a windy night, fell into a quick 2-0 hole. Jarren Duran opened with a leadoff double in the first and Rafael Devers walked before Alex Bregman’s groundout brought in the run from third. Trevor Story delivered a two-out RBI single to extend the lead.
Duran’s RBI triple in the second gave the Red Sox a 3-0 lead. Carlos Narváez walked before Duran, with two outs, jumped on a forkball and hit it into the right field corner.
“The first couple of innings, with the wind and the environment in general I was having a hard time executing my pitches,” Senga said through his interpreter. “But I wanted to go out there and stay in the game and make it a winnable game. I was able to stay out there for a good amount.”
Tyrone Taylor’s RBI single in the third pulled the Mets within 3-1. Francisco Alvarez doubled leading off the inning. Francisco Lindor walked following Taylor’s single, but Soto quashed the inning by hitting into a double play.
Pete Alonso’s second throwing miscue in as many nights gave the Red Sox a threat in the fourth. Alonso flipped over Senga’s head covering first base on Duran’s grounder, giving the Red Sox runners on the corners with two outs. Devers walked to load the bases before Senga retired Bregman.
It was a rough night for Alonso, who smacked a shot off the Green Monster in the first inning but was thrown out as he slid into second base. Alonso was initially ruled safe, but the Red Sox won a replay challenge.
After Soto stole second following his single off the wall in the sixth inning, Alonso walked. But Brandon Nimmo hit into a double play and Mark Vientos was retired.
The Mets threatened with two outs in the seventh: Jeff McNeil walked and Taylor’s single (which included an error by right fielder Wilyer Abreu) put runners on the corners.
After a pitching change, Lindor was retired by Justin Slaten on the first pitch.
“We’re not getting the job done with runners in scoring position,” Mendoza said. “At times I feel like we’re taking real good pitches to hit, being passive, and then at times chasing.”
