Soto tips hat to booing Bronx fans, has quiet night

NEW YORK -- Fans rose to their feet for Juan Soto's Yankee Stadium return in a rare standing jeer, and he responded by taking off his helmet, tipping it to the crowd and touching it against his heart.

Having turned down a 16-year, $760 million offer from the Yankees for a record 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets, Soto was the center of attention in the Bronx, wearing bright orange wristbands that could be spotted from the farthest seats.

"I talked to him a couple of days ago and he's ready. He knows what's coming," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said before Friday night's 6-2 Subway Series loss to the Yankees. "He's just got to enjoy it, embrace it and be himself."

Soto had a quiet night in his return. He walked in his first three plate appearances, scoring on Brandon Nimmo's single in the fourth, grounded out in the seventh and hit a game-ending flyout with two on. He made a weak three-hop throw home on Anthony Volpe's 243-foot sacrifice fly.

When Soto jogged to right field for the bottom of the first, many of the Bleacher Creatures turned their backs on him. When he caught Cody Bellinger's inning-ending flyout in the eighth and tossed the ball in the seats, a fan threw it right back onto the field, prompting cheers.

With the Mets trailing badly, owner Steve Cohen left his second-row seat by the seventh inning.

Yankees fans had wanted Soto to remain in their lineup, hitting second ahead of Aaron Judge. New York acquired Soto from San Diego in December 2023 and he helped them reach the World Series for the first time since 2009.

Both teams lead their divisions going into the first of six Subway Series matchups this season, the Yankees atop the AL East at 26-18 and the Mets first in the NL East at 28-17.

"This year is unique obviously because of all the news and storylines around Juan the last couple of years, so you understand that ratchets up the intensity of it," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

Soto entered with a .255 batting average, eight homers, 20 RBIs and an .845 OPS in 43 games, down from a .313 average, nine homers, 34 RBIs and a .947 OPS through the same number of games last year.

He hit .288 with 41 homers, 109 RBIs and 129 walks last year, batting second in the order ahead of Judge in a 21st century version of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Soto hit a go-ahead homer in the AL Championship Series opener against Cleveland and a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the 10th inning that won the pennant against the Guardians in Game 5.

"Juan obviously was only here for a year, but what he was able to do and what he meant for the team last year was huge," said pitcher Clay Holmes, who followed Soto from the Bronx to Queens. "He's across town. There's people that probably don't like that."

Soto received his first boos about 1 hour, 40 minutes earlier, when he went to right field during batting practice, cap backward in the style of Ken Griffey Jr.

"I had a pretty good seat back in 2022 when Houston came over here and I felt like the louder the boos got, those guys raised their game," said Mendoza, a coach for Boone from 2018-23. "Somebody's able to handle it, it's Juan Soto."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.