Juan Soto ends home run drought and Mets hand Rockies another series loss with 8-2 win
NEW YORK (AP) — Juan Soto hit his first homer in more than three weeks and the New York Mets sent the Colorado Rockies to another series loss with an 8-2 win on Saturday.
The Rockies, whose 9-49 record is the worst in the modern era through 58 games, are the first team in history to open a season with 19 straight series losses. Colorado has lost a major league-record 22 straight series dating back to last September.
Brett Baty had a bases-clearing triple off Antonio Senzatela (1-10) in a four-run first inning, which Tyrone Taylor capped with a single. Brandon Nimmo and Soto homered on consecutive pitches in the fourth.
Soto was serenaded with chants of 'JUAN SO-TO' from fans in the right field seats in the top of the fifth, when he turned and raised his arms in acknowledgment.
Jeff McNeil homered in the eighth.
Kodai Senga (6-3) allowed two runs on two hits over 6 2/3 innings. He retired a career-high 17 straight batters between Ezequiel Tovar's one-out homer in the first and Tovar's walk leading off the seventh.
Thairo Estrada chased Senga with an RBI single.
Senzatela, the first pitcher to reach 10 losses this season, allowed seven runs in four innings.
Key moment
Soto's 404-foot blast was his first homer since May 9. The $765 million outfielder entered Saturday hitting just .143 with two extra-base hits in his previous 17 games.
Key stat
The Rockies haven't led at the completion of an inning since the first inning last Sunday, when they were ahead of the New York Yankees 2-1.
Up next
The series ends Sunday with Mets RHP Clay Holmes (5-3, 2.98 ERA) opposing Rockies LHP Carson Palmquist (0-3, 8.78 ERA).
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wall Street Journal
10 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
The Knicks Just Fired Their Best Coach in Decades. Are They Back to Being the Knicks?
Tom Thibodeau has been sacked as head coach of the New York Knicks following a season in which he led this comically forlorn franchise to the edge of the NBA Finals for the first time in a quarter-century. I used to feel happiness for whomever got fired as a Knicks coach—finally, they are free from this cave! Fly away! This time, it's hard not to feel bad for Thibs, a grinding lifer who transformed one of the most thankless jobs in sports. You can look at the team's decision a couple of ways. I'll do the optimistic rendering, naturally followed by the irritated, pessimistic one. This Shows the Knicks are Serious. An optimist may choose to see Thibodeau's ouster as a signal that New York's front office believes the team is close to a championship, and only a few key changes are needed to get them over the hump. Under this theory, relieving Thibodeau—a former head coach in Chicago and Minnesota who was hired by the Knicks for the 2020-21 campaign—is a painful but necessary move. It's painful because Thibodeau was undeniably successful: He built the Knicks into an overachieving unit that finished in third place in the Eastern Conference, and knocked off both Detroit and defending champion Boston in the playoffs. He wrung the best out of imperfect lineups and gave the freedom to Jalen Brunson to become a generational New York superstar. He carved Josh Hart and OG Anunoby into warriors. Thibodeau also coached Karl-Anthony Towns for 18 playoff games without opening a bottle of bourbon on the sideline. Thibodeau isn't for everyone. He's a no-nonsense obsessive who always looks like he can't find his rental car. He isn't going to get a job hosting the 'Today' show, although I would totally watch that. Instead he gave the Knicks an identity to match their city: tough, resilient, hard to kill. His team, Brunson especially, is beloved. Thibs's resistance to change could be maddening, but Madison Square Garden rocked in a way it hadn't since the Ewing/Starks days. As for why his firing is necessary…well, the Knicks must feel they are ready to go up a level, and didn't think Thibodeau was the guy to get them to take the leap. Maybe they've been ready to do it for a while, and then this playoff run made the optics weird. Much has been said about Thibodeau's stubbornness about using rookies and bench players, which led to him milking a ton of minutes from his starters. This led to injury worries, plus some frustrating moments in the playoffs, especially when Thibodeau needed to dust off his bench versus the frantic Indiana Pacers. Moving on from Thibodeau signals a change in approach, which presumably means utilizing the bench more and keeping the team fresher into May and June. But still! They just won 51 regular-season games and went deeper in the playoffs than any Knicks team in eons! They reached the postseason in four of Thibodeau's five seasons! Do you realize how sad this team was not long ago? Do you remember the soul-crushed atmosphere in the Garden, the easy punchlines about ownership and ineptitude? Do you think Kylie Jenner was going out on a date to watch THAT? Absolutely not. Under Thibs, New York found hope again. Do you see how old those Clyde Frazier and Earl Monroe championship banners are in the rafters? They're old enough to still be reading a sports column in a newspaper. Which leads to this natural but nagging worry: This Shows the Knicks are Still the Knicks. This is the fear: that maybe the Knicks maxed it out this season, shocked a Boston team that didn't take them seriously, and might not be as close to a title as they appear. The Celtics aren't looking like a huge threat as long as injured Jayson Tatum is out, but Indiana's clearly arrived, the Cavs should be solid, Detroit's rising, and Orlando might be ready to get serious. (I'm choosing to completely ignore the Western Conference and the loaded Oklahoma City Thunder, which might fire Indiana into the sun when the Finals begin on Thursday.) Maybe the Knicks are being irrational here, dismissing a coach who knew how to win basketball games, and will now do what irrational teams do, which is to find a shiny new replacement who will struggle to match the prior coach's success. The Knicks have historically craved big names, and you can expect some to surface soon. Whoever's hired will say the right things, and hit the right notes, but it doesn't mean anything until next year, when you find out if they can find a way to stop Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam. Here's the panic: Maybe this spring was as good as it got. Maybe the Knicks are heading backward, moving fast and breaking up a good thing. There will be intense pressure on who comes next—not just as coach, but to supplement Brunson, Towns and the overworked starters. There will be agony if it doesn't work. New York City, a hard-to-please town, got used to losing a lot of basketball games. Tom Thibodeau taught it how to win again. Write to Jason Gay at
Associated Press
11 minutes ago
- Associated Press
AP PHOTOS: Tiger's son, Charlie Woods, in the spotlight
Charlie Woods made his TV debut at age 11 in the PNC Championship, the tournament that pairs major champions with a family member. He has grown and matured since then. He won his first big golf tournament last week and the 16-year-old son of Tiger Woods is getting plenty of attention. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors. ___ AP golf:
CBS News
11 minutes ago
- CBS News
New Penn Med center in Philadelphia aims to help people with Williams syndrome, develop better treatments
A new specialty center opened Tuesday at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. It's one of the first in the country to help children and adults with Williams syndrome, a rare condition that makes them extra friendly. "This center is going to be life-changing for families," said Jocelyn Krebs, director of the Armellino Center of Excellence for Williams Syndrome. For Krebs, this work is personal. She researched the disorder for decades and then had a child born with the condition, which she calls "an insane coincidence." "Suddenly I went from a scientist who understood Williams syndrome very deeply in one way to a mom trying to figure out, what do you do with a kid that has these various challenges?" Krebs said. The center includes a sensory room with different lights and playful distractions to ease anxiety, which is common for people with Williams syndrome. Krebs' son Rhys has intellectual disabilities, a primary symptom of Williams syndrome. In collaboration with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the center will provide comprehensive care and research for adults and children with Williams syndrome, which often comes with severe heart problems and social challenges. "A behavior that is very characteristic of Williams syndrome, sometimes called the cocktail party syndrome because of it … is this incredible friendliness, hypersociability," Krebs said. "And what it really is is just a completely uninhibited social approach." With the right kinds of early intervention, people with Williams are able to thrive. This center will help assure that can happen and look for better treatments and new hope for brighter futures. An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people in the United States have Williams syndrome, which is diagnosed with genetic testing. Learn more about the center on Penn Medicine's website.
