Juan Soto just missed a grand slam in Saturday night’s fourth inning.
Unlike other near misses this season, this one didn’t land in somebody’s glove.
The ball hit high off the fence in right-center.
Soto sprinted to second base with a pivotal two-run double, and the cheers he received from the crowd intensified shortly after he stepped into the batter’s box.
Soto needed it.
The Mets needed it.
On this night, the star right fielder delivered the decisive hit in a 5-2 Mets victory over the Dodgers before 41,332 at Citi Field.
Soto entered the day only 5-for-42 (.119) with runners in scoring position.
The Mets as a team were 27th in MLB in that category at .213.
Soto finished 2-for-5 on a night the Mets amassed 11 hits and won for the second time in three games.
The rubber game of the series is Sunday night in this rematch from last year’s NLCS.
The Mets will also visit Dodger Stadium for four games on their next road trip.
David Peterson delivered a solid performance for the Mets, pitching deep into the game, especially crucial after the bullpen was exhausted the previous night following an eight-reliever stretch in a 13-inning defeat.
The left-hander went 7 ²/₃ innings and allowed two earned runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.
The outing was the longest by a Mets starting pitcher this season.
Edwin Díaz recorded the final four outs scoreless for the save.
It was Díaz’s second outing this season that lasted beyond one inning.
Peterson dented in the second, after plunking Tommy Edman to put runners on first and second with one out.
Enrique Hernández’s ensuing single brought in the game’s first run before Dalton Rushing’s groundout placed the Mets in a 2-0 hole.
The Mets themselves benefited from a hit-by-pitch to ignite a rally in the bottom half of the inning: Jared Young, during his first plate appearance in a Mets uniform after being called up from Triple-A Syracuse ahead of the game, was hit by Tony Gonsolin with two outs.
Tyrone Taylor singled before scorching Brett Baty delivered an RBI single that pulled the Mets within 2-1.
Soto’s two-run double highlighted a big fourth inning, in which the Mets scored three times for a 4-2 lead.
Luis Torrens singled leading off and Baty kept the inning alive by drawing a two-out walk.
Francisco Lindor walked to load the bases and Starling Marte’s check-swing grounder brought in a run.
Soto followed with a shot off the fence in right-center that scored two runs, before Marte was thrown out at the plate.
The Mets turned three double plays to help Peterson avoid trouble. In the fourth, Hernández hit into an inning-ending double play after Edman had walked with two outs.
In the sixth, Teoscar Hernández followed Mookie Betts’ leadoff single with a grounder that became a 6-4-3 double play.
In the seventh, Enrique Hernández hit into his second inning-ending double play of the night, this one started by Baty.
In the eighth, Baty crushed an RBI double off the left field fence to bring in the Mets’ final run. Baty finished 3-for-3 and with two RBIs.
