Back from injury, and straight into the thick of it
Juan Soto wasted no time making an impact. Fresh off the injured list, the Mets outfielder delivered the hit that broke the game open in the fifth inning on Saturday. New York beat Houston 6-2.
Soto had missed the previous five weeks with a left calf strain. While he was out, the Mets won 17 of their 31 games. Not exactly what most people expected, especially after baseball operations president David Stearns ripped through the roster and sent seven veterans away before the Aug. 3 deadline.
“Seeing how everything is working for us is really cool to watch. It means a lot, not just for this year but for the years ahead,” Soto said. “It pushed me a little more to get back, to join that positive momentum.”
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The Mets are really playing for 2027
The only meaningful target left for New York this season is avoiding last place in the National League East, something the club has not done since 2003. The Mets are three games behind the fourth-place Washington Nationals.
Everything else is about next year. The core is starting to take shape around Francisco Lindor, who is also looking for a bounce-back after an injury-hit season, outfield additions Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing, and young starting pitchers such as Zac Thornton, Nolan McLean and Christian Scott.
McLean picked up the win on Saturday as well. He allowed two hits and one unearned run over seven innings. The right-hander has worked at least six innings in 13 of his last 15 outings, with all but two of those ending in a quality start.
Houston holds on to the West despite its rotation
At the other end, the Astros lead Texas by two games in the American League West. Their pitching staff is a different story. Bennett Sousa made his first start in 99 games on Saturday and was gone after two outs. Cristian Javier took over and gave up three runs in 4 and a third innings.
Houston responded this week by bringing Brent Strom out of retirement to help pitching coaches Josh Miller and Ethan Katz. Only Hunter Brown and Peter Lambert have an earned-run average below 4.00 with at least eight starts. Brown also went 6 and two-thirds innings on Friday in a 3-1 win, the longest outing by an Astros starter since Hayden Wesneski threw seven innings on Aug. 10.
The series finale takes place Sunday at Citi Field. Zac Thornton (3-4, 2.88 ERA) goes for New York against right-hander Ethan Pecko (0-0, 7.88), making his third major league start. Neither pitcher has faced the opposing club before.
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