Juan Soto stands his ground after Mets skipper's accountability remark

New York Mets superstar Juan Soto stood his ground amid remarks from manager Carlos Mendoza regarding his lack of hustle on Monday night against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

In particular, Mendoza called out Juan Soto for failing to bolt out of the box on a long line drive that bounced off Fenway’s Green Monster in the sixth inning. Here’s a look at the play in question:

Soto took a moment to admire the blast that didn't have enough height to get over the Green Monster for a home run. Since Soto didn't run straight out of the box, he was held to a long, loud single.

Mendoza said about the play, as captured by SNY:

“We’ll talk to him about it. Tonight, obviously, someone gets a hold of one and knows when he gets it, he’s Juan. He thought he had it, with the wind and all that, and in this ballpark, anywhere, but in particular this one, with that wall, right there, you got to get out of the box.”

Mendoza’s comments pointed toward Juan Soto’s lack of hustle, singling out the fact that he should have flown out of the box instead of assuming he had launched a home run.

In his defense, Juan Soto told SNY reporters:

“No, I think I’ve been hustling pretty hard. If you could see it today, you could tell.”

The Mets dropped the game 3-1 against the BoSox on Monday night, with Soto going 1-for-4.

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Juan Soto and Mets continue to struggle offensively

The Mets will be counting on Soto to pick things up offensively to regain first place in the NL East - Source: Imagn

A post-game piece in the NY Post highlighted how the Mets, particularly Juan Soto, continue to struggle offensively. The piece underscored that Soto continues to falter with the bat after going 1-for-10 in the past weekend’s Subway Series.

Most importantly, the Mets have failed to drive in runners in scoring position. A good example of that came on Soto’s loud single in the sixth inning. After admiring his single, Soto stole second, with Pete Alonso drawing a walk.

Brandon Nimmo then bounced into a double play, with Soto moving up to third, only to have Mark Vientos end the inning.

As the Post noted, it's a situation that must change. The Mets cannot rely solely on their pitching to get by games. Even when Mets pitchers surrender three runs in a game, the team needs to pick up the offensive slack.

The Mets remain tied with the Philadelphia Phillies atop the NL East. But if the team cannot get the bats going, they could fall behind Philly.