Juan Soto hits first home run as a Met in victory over Astros
The Mets' Juan Soto celebrates in the dugout after hitting a home run against the Houston Astros during the third inning on Friday in Houston. Credit: AP/David J. Phillip
HOUSTON — For Juan Soto, hitter extraordinaire, the feat of strength seemed so routine that it elicited hardly any sort of outward reaction at all.
His swing connected hard with Hunter Brown’s cutter. The ball soared to rightfield, ricocheting off the face of the second deck and dribbling back onto the field.
As it flew, Soto made sure to enjoy the moment, slowly walking out of the batter’s box and calmly dropping his bat before breaking into a jog around the bases.
In the third inning of a 3-1 win over the Astros, Soto’s stone face belied the magnitude of the milestone. It was his first home run as a member of the Mets (and 202nd overall).
“It’s always great to have the first one,” he said. “A lot of guys want to get the first one out of the way early, try to get that pressure off. So it feels pretty good.”
Soto, though, has not felt pressure to perform and provide, he said, in these first games of his 15-year, $765 million contract.
“We are the New York Mets,” he said. “We’re not here as the Juan Soto Mets. We’re here as a team. That’s one of the things that helps me out.”
And yet he is 2-for-2 on the season in owning the most noteworthy moment of the game, following his Opening Day-ending strikeout Thursday.
This outcome was happier for Soto and the Mets. They already had a 2-0 lead on Houston and Brown, a touted and hard-throwing righthander, via run-scoring hits from Mark Vientos and Jesse Winker in the second inning.
Soto was behind in the count 1-and-2 but liked his chances. He was “hunting something up there,” he said, because of advice from Winker and Brett Baty, his fellow lefthanded hitters, who noted to Soto that Brown “feels pretty comfortable with the cutter up and in.”
So when Brown offered exactly that pitch, Soto was ready. The result was a no-doubter.
Juan Soto makes it official with his first @Mets home run! 💪 pic.twitter.com/WFhnm2rzTg
— MLB (@MLB) March 29, 2025
“It was pretty incredible,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Not easy to do. You’re talking about a pitch that is out of the strike zone, up and in, a cutter 96 [mph]. And he’s able to turn on it and hit it on a line like that. Amazing.”
Edwin Diaz added: “The ball went out quick.”
And Francisco Lindor, ever a team-first voice: “It helped.”
When the ball bounced back onto the rightfield grass, Houston’s Cam Smith — playing the second game of his major-league life — tossed it back into the crowd. The Mets did not retrieve it.
As Soto rounded the bases, the Daikin Park crowd of 37,004 booed, just as it did when he was introduced before the opener and each time he stepped to the plate.
“Just turn it off,” Soto said of playing in front of a hostile crowd. “Just think about yourself and what you’re going to do in the moment. Just be focused. Forget about what is going on around you. I remember when I was a kid, they used to tell me if they’re not booing you, you’re not doing things right. So I feel like every time they boo me, it means something for me.”
Soto’s blast served as the highlight of a well-rounded night for the Mets.
Tylor Megill had a fine first go in his latest chance to stick in the rotation, allowing one run and three hits in five innings-plus, a performance Mendoza praised as “really good.”
“If he’s aggressive and he’s trusting his pitches in the zone, he’s a guy. He’s a dude,” Mendoza said before the game. “He’s got that potential. I think he’s been through a lot in this league and he’s ready to take the next step.”
Post-Megill, Mendoza got a first look at his late-and-close reliever lineup, turning to Reed Garrett, A.J. Minter (Mets debut), Ryne Stanek and Diaz, in that order, for four hitless innings.
A day after his wild throw allowed the Astros to score a key run, Luisangel Acuna made a diving stop of Brendan Rodgers’ would-be single, saving Stanek from a jam. And Diaz’s save was of the low-stress variety, which the Mets always welcome.
The final out came on Smith’s fly ball to rightfield. Before it even settled into Soto’s glove, Diaz untucked his jersey to celebrate.
Forty-five minutes later, Soto remained in full uniform, having spent much of that time palling around with teammates in the food room. The championship belt that the Mets award to their hitter of the game sat by his locker next to the rest of his stuff. He homered, the moment mattered, and the group honored that.
Was it fun?
“What do you think?” Soto said. “Every home run is fun.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
