The New York Mets and Atlanta Braves were locked in a close battle, tied at 4-4 going into the ninth inning of their series opener on June 17.
Star right fielder Juan Soto put the go-ahead run on base for the Mets with a single. However, he made a costly baserunning mistake when caught off first base. Braves right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. tracked down Pete Alonso’s deep fly ball, and Soto, who didn’t wait to tag up, got caught in no man’s land, unsure if the catch had been made.
However, looking back on the play, Soto doesn’t believe it was his fault.
Mets Star Juan Soto Blames Umpires for Costly Baserunning Confusion
Soto’s perplexity over whether Acuña Jr. caught the ball would prove fatal, as the Mets would lose 5-4 in extra innings. However, Soto refused to take all the blame in an interview after the game.
According to a video by SNY on X, Soto reminded everyone of the importance of an umpire’s job and the need to make a call on time.
Soto said, “We rely on the umpires. We wait on them to make the call. The goal is look for the umpire and make sure he makes the right call. But I felt like he took way too long to make the decision, and it just put me in a tough spot.”
“We rely on the umpires. We wait on them to make the call. The goal is look for the umpire and make sure he makes the right call. But I felt like he took way too long to make the decision and it just put me in a tough spot”
– Juan Soto on getting doubled off in the 9th pic.twitter.com/Y0U5rMXXwE
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 18, 2025
It’s evident that Soto was frustrated.
The Braves and Mets rivalry has historically been one of the MLB’s most intense, and the atmosphere of Tuesday’s game reflected that. Soto was thrust into a confusing situation in his first game against the Braves with the Mets.
He would have been safe if he had assumed the catch was made and sprinted back to first base. But if he guessed wrong, he could have put his team in an even tougher spot. In the same way, Soto would have looked ridiculous if he had assumed the catch was not made and kept running.
Before the blunder, Soto ignited his team and silenced the home fans with a first-inning home run against Atlanta starter Spencer Schwellenbach.
Despite the baserunning mishap, Soto’s early heroics showed why he remains one of the Mets’ most dangerous hitters. Soto and his team will try to avoid the series loss tonight against Braves ace Chris Sale.