Juan Soto (calf) leaves early in Mets' loss to Dodgers, to undergo imaging

Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News on Jul 24, 2026

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — A Friday night showcase for two of baseball’s biggest stars came to an early end for Juan Soto, who exited in the sixth inning due to soreness in his ailing left calf.

Shohei Ohtani then took advantage of the spotlight, driving in the go-ahead run with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 4-2 win over the Mets at Citi Field.

Serving as the Mets’ designated hitter, Soto walked in both of his plate appearances against Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki before Jorge Polanco pinch hit for him in the bottom of the sixth.

Soto has been dealing with calf discomfort since July 16, when he left in the eighth inning of a Mets win in Philadelphia in the first game after the All-Star break.

“We certainly hoped we were behind it and done talking about this, but he felt it pushing off going to second base when he was on the bases,” Mets interim manager Andy Green said after Friday’s defeat.

“At this point, we’ll likely get an image [Saturday] and try to see where he’s at. This has nagged him for a week now. I know it’s frustrating for him, frustrating for us.”

Soto, 27, had played in five games since tweaking his calf. He sat out of Wednesday’s loss in Milwaukee, with Green rationalizing that day that the slugger would get 48 hours of rest due to Thursday’s off-day.

But after Soto was unable to finish Friday’s game, Green was asked about his level of concern that the slugger would require a stint on the injured list.

“I think any time you get an image, you’re concerned,” Green said. “Concerned enough to do it. We’ll wait until [Saturday] and figure out what we’re dealing with.”

This the second calf issue of the season for Soto, who spent 2 1/2 weeks on the IL in April due to a mild strain in his right leg. The Mets’ lone All-Star, Soto is hitting .283 with 21 home runs and a .947 OPS.

The Dodgers ($419.8 million) and Mets ($373.7 million) boast MLB’s two highest compete-balance-tax payrolls, per Cot’s Contracts, but their seasons could not be going more differently.

Los Angeles (66-38) owns MLB’s best record and seeks its third consecutive World Series championship. The Mets (43-61), doomed by injury and underperformance all season, are now 0-4 this year against the Dodgers, who swept them in LA in April.

Friday night’s game was tied, 1-1, when Soto exited, but the Dodgers broke it open in the later innings.

With runners at the corners and no outs in the top of the seventh, Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing laid down a safety-squeeze bunt against Mets reliever Brooks Raley.

The Mets caught Kyle Tucker in a rundown as he attempted to score from third base, but they took too much time before tagging him out, allowing the Dodgers’ other two baserunners to move into scoring position.

Rather than walking the lefty-swinging Ohtani, the Mets opted to pitch to the four-time MVP with the left-handed Raley while righty-hitting Andy Pages, an All-Star in his own right, waited on deck.

Ohtani delivered with a deep sacrifice fly, putting the Dodgers up, 2-1.

The Dodgers tacked on insurance runs in the top of the eighth when Tucker slugged a two-run home run against A.J. Minter.

It was the eighth home run of the season for Tucker, a four-time All-Star who has disappointed in the first season of a historic four-year, $240 million contract with the Dodgers.

The Mets pursued Tucker heavily before losing the bidding war to the Dodgers and pivoting to sign Bo Bichette.

Tucker’s 386-foot drive proved to be the dagger on a night the Mets offense mustered only one run on three hits against the flamethrowing Sasaki, who struck out nine over seven innings.

It’s been an impressive week for the 23-year-old Sasaki, who limited the Yankees to one unearned run in 5 2/3 innings with five strikeouts in the Bronx last Friday.

The Mets’ late-inning woes spoiled a season-best start from Sean Manaea, who held the mighty Dodgers to one run over six innings.

And while it was a rough evening for Raley and Minter — two impending free agents whom the Mets are likely to trade before the Aug. 3 deadline — Friday’s game served as a better audition for two of the Mets’ other top trade chips.

Luis Robert Jr. drilled a 381-foot solo home run on a 99-mph fastball from Sasaki in the second inning, giving the Mets a 1-0 lead.

It was Robert’s second home run in the four games since he returned from a lumbar spine disc herniation that sidelined for nearly three months.

Francisco Alvarez, meanwhile, clubbed a 401-foot solo home run — his 12th homer of the season — in the eighth inning against reliever Evan Phillips.

Saturday afternoon’s game features a marquee pitching matchup, with Nolan McLean (7-6, 3.34 ERA) set to start for the Mets and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (10-6, 2.78 ERA) lined up for Los Angeles.