Juan Soto lifts Mets past Yankees in Subway Series comeback - ESPN

NEW YORK — Juan Soto's second Subway Series experience in a Mets uniform was a far cry from his first.

In mid-May, Soto received a three-day onslaught of boos from scorned crowds in his return to Yankee Stadium and looked increasingly uncomfortable as the weekend progressed. On Friday, he felt right at home in the teams' series opener at Citi Field, receiving a standing ovation from his home crowd before his first at-bat and reciprocating the love with a signature performance against his former team.

The soon-to-be five-time All-Star went 3-for-4 with a home run, double and single, falling just a triple shy of the cycle in the Mets' 6-5 comeback win over the Yankees to continue his scalding stretch over the past month as the Mets won their third consecutive game and the Yankees lost their fifth straight.

«That was awesome,» said second baseman Jeff McNeil, who slashed a go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh inning. «He had a great day. Huge home run. That's just who he is. It's fun to watch and I feel like every time he comes to the plate, he's going to do something cool.»

The day began with the Mets needing a quick counter after the Yankees took a two-run lead on back-to-back home runs from Jasson Dominguez and Aaron Judge to open the game and put rookie Justin Hagenman on his heels in his first career major league start. Soto, moments after absorbing the warm reception, delivered one, lifting a two-run home run to left-center field for his 21st of the season to tie the score and put Hagenman at ease.

«Juan responded right away, just getting the momentum right back,» Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. «That was the setting-the-tone moment. 'OK, they punch, we're going to punch back. Here we are.'»

The 26-year-old Soto