In the middle of the New York Mets’ 7-1 meltdown, Juan Soto managed to record the 1000th hit of his career on Thursday night. His record-breaking hit came off Braves’ Spencer Strider, which helped him etch his name in history. With this personal milestone, the 26-year-old Dominican outfielder has joined the club of only 84 such players who have achieved that record at such a young age. The celebrations are still on. However, while he’s shining solo, the New York Mets hold a brutal seven-game skid.

For the record, this season’s worst stretch had the team squander its lead atop the NL East standings, as they are now one game behind the Philadelphia Phillies. Now, as the team is desperate to snap the seven-game losing streak, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports MLB first asked Soto how he’s feeling after all the early struggles. “You were uncomfortable for a while, how are you feeling now?”

Soto, not denying that statement, simply spoke about how he was feeling at present. “I’m really good. I’m in a good spot; we’ve been doing great in the past month,” he replied. He was also asked, “Carlos Mendoza is not as experienced as the other managers you’ve played for Dave Martinez, Melvin, and Aaron Boone. Mendoza is in his second year and not as experienced. What have you noticed about him so far?” 

“He’s really good. He’s a really confident manager. He gives a lot of confidence to his players. Let them be themselves.” Soto, since signing a multimillion-dollar contract with the Mets, admitted Mendoza’s excellent managerial duties for the first time. “I think he’s doing a really good job so far this season. Out of all the managers, it feels like he gives me a lot of confidence in what I’ve been doing and tries to help me feel comfortable in this place.” Soto added. Between those lines, he subtly praised Mendoza while leaving out his former manager, Aaron Boone.

It’s important to note that Soto’s first 569 hits were recorded with the Nationals. Then, 199 with the San Diego Padres and 166 with the Mets’ cross-town rivals, the New York Yankees. With the Mets, throughout this stretch of the season, he has recorded 66 hits.

Even though the Boone snub was harsh, it was perhaps just a reflection of how well he is settling in with the Mets despite their current rough stretch.

Carlos Mendoza’s worrisome response to Mets’ ongoing struggles

After a brutal 10-2 defeat to the Philadelphia Phillies, the New York Mets were evidently in an undesirable spot. What’s even worse than their seven-game losing streak? It’s the fact that they haven’t been able to play well in even one area of the game. However, while other managers would’ve been threatened by this now, Carlos Mendoza agrees too!

“I think it’s a little bit of everything… The starters aren’t going deep into games. Offensively, we’re struggling to score. Right now, we’re struggling in all areas.” Clearly! even Juan Soto was hitless at his first two at-bats against the Phillies. In fact, the overall offensive production has been shut down over the stretch. Across the Mets’ brutal seven-game skid, they have stranded 34 runners on base.

The starting rotation isn’t doing any better either. It was once hailed for its strength. Now, it barely looks like it. All pitchers—Paul Blackburn, Griffin Canning, and Tylor Megill—have failed to shine consistently. Coming to the other players—Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil briefly tied the game. They helped to calm the game a bit. But the key thing there was that they only did it briefly.

Can Soto’s milestone spark a revival of the bats? Will Boone have the last laugh? Let us know your opinion in the comments.