Juan Soto stands by his ‘hustle’ after more curious baserunning as Mets plan to talk with star

BOSTON — The Mets have sloppiness to clean up, but Juan Soto doesn’t view his level of hustle as part of the problem.

For a second straight night, the star Mets outfielder was caught in quicksand running to first base. This time it was a shot he thought would clear the Green Monster for a homer but hit the wall, leaving him with a single in the sixth inning due to his late departure from the batter’s box.

Soto eventually reclaimed the base with a steal of second, but it was poor optics for a player who hasn’t exactly carried the Mets offense, including an anemic performance during the Subway Series in his return to Yankee Stadium last weekend.

After the Mets’ 3-1 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park, he was asked if he needed to be more aware of running hard to first base.

“I think I have been hustling very hard,” Soto said. “If you saw it today, you could tell.”

A night earlier, Soto hit a grounder to second base in The Bronx and slowed to a jog on a ball that was bobbled. Soto restarted his jets, but was too late to beat the throw.