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On one occasion, the Phillies regretted taking a chance against Juan Soto.
On two occasions, they did not bother.
None of these three involved Soto in the batter’s box.
The Mets did not make Soto their $765 million man because of his left arm, but that throwing arm still helped them win a game.
“I try my best to come through with the bat,” Soto said after the 4-3, walk-off victory over the Phillies at Citi Field that finished off a perfect homestand. “But whenever the bat doesn’t come through, I’ve got to do something else.”
On Wednesday, that meant throwing three darts to home plate from right field in a dramatic game in which every run mattered.
In the second inning, the Phillies had loaded the bases with one out for Johan Rojas, who lifted a fly ball to shallow right.
Soto camped under it, caught it, and unleashed a throw that arrived to catcher Hayden Senger on the fly, Alec Bohm retreating back to third base.
David Peterson then retired Trea Turner to keep the game scoreless.
It was a 2-2 game in the eighth inning when the Phillies put runners on first and second before Max Kepler drove a single into right field.
Soto charged, fielded cleanly and “just let it go,” he said.
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The strong throw reached Senger quickly, but the one-hopper was “a little bit offline,” Soto acknowledged, and slightly up the first base line. Senger caught it and lunged to the plate, where his glove beat a sliding Nick Castellanos.
“I thought it was a really good and a well-executed play,” said manager Carlos Mendoza, who was particularly complimentary of Senger’s end. “He’s got to catch, reach for it, and then quickly apply the tag, not knowing where the runner’s coming [from], which angle he’s going to slide.”
“Great tag,” Soto echoed.
The run-preventing play helped send the game into extra innings, where once more Soto’s arm came into play.
With the Phillies already up one run in the top of the 10th and two runners on base, Bohm singled into right field, and again Soto came up throwing.
This time Castellanos did not test him and elected to stay at third.
A batter later, he again remained on the base when Bryson Stott flied out to shallow center field and Tyrone Taylor made a strong throw home.
Castellanos would be stranded.
Twenty-five games into his Mets career, Soto owns a relatively pedestrian .753 OPS with three home runs and 12 RBIs.
He also has his first assist after coming up with 10 last year with the Yankees, which helped him crack the Gold Glove finalists.
This year, he hopes to actually take home the award.
“100 percent,” Soto said. “We keep working on it. We have a long way to go.”