In his first game as a member of the New York Yankees, Juan Soto made one heck of a first impression. Not only did he drive in a run and reach base three times against the Houston Astros, but he also saved New York's bacon in the bottom of the ninth, cutting down the tying run at home plate to help seal a 5-4 win on Opening Day.
The stage was set for Soto to do the same a year later, this time with the New York Mets. Again the outfielder found himself in Houston; again he was among his team's most consistent hitters all day, recording a hit and two walks over his first four at-bats. And once again, the game came down to the final inning, with Soto stepping up as the go-ahead run with two outs and men on the corners in a 3-1 game in the bottom of the ninth.
Would Soto deliver just like he did last year, immediately showing why the Mets were thrilled to hand him $765 million this winter? Alas, not quite.
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Juan Soto's Mets debut comes up just short
Instead, Soto went down swinging, waving at a Josh Hader slider in a full count to end the game.
Josh Hader shuts the door on Juan Soto pic.twitter.com/8RVg1tN1b2
— Dillard Barnhart (@BarnHasSpoken2) March 27, 2025
That will be exactly the cherry on top of a successful Opening Day for Yankees fans, who also watched their team hang on for a 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Soto failing to come through in nearly the same spot, in the very same park, where he delivered for the Bombers last year? If baseball had a script, you couldn't write it any better.
Of course, such satisfaction will likely be pretty short-lived. Soto remains arguably the best pure hitter in the sport, and while he didn't deliver this time, he's sure to deliver many, many times over the course of this season. There's a reason why the Mets were so thrilled to get him, and the Yankees so crestfallen; Soto is the sort of player that doesn't come around very often, and the Bronx knows all too well how dangerous he can be when the chips are down. They'll enjoy this one while they can, though.