Juan Soto quickly turned around his Subway Series fortunes.
As the interborough rivalry moved to Citi Field, the Mets slugger hit a two-run home run in the first inning on Friday afternoon, seven weeks after he was subjected to constant jeering from Yankees fans during a difficult weekend in the Bronx.
In a Broadway-worthy moment, Soto enjoyed a long walk around the bases after admiring the 393-foot bomb off of Marcus Stroman.
And that was just the start.
In the Mets’ 6-5 victory over the Yankees to start the second Subway Series, Soto scored twice and exploded for three hits in four at-bats.
He scored on Pete Alonso’s RBI single after doubling in the third inning. In the sixth inning, he also singled.
In front of a ruthless Bronx crowd, Soto went just 1-for-10 with four walks and three strikeouts during his series at Yankee Stadium in mid-May.
Since leaving the Yankees in the winter to sign a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million contract with the crosstown Mets, Soto had not faced the team before, until those games in the Bronx.
During that first act of the Subway Series, Yankees fans made Soto an enemy in the Bronx because of his departure.
Following a concerted protest in which the right-field bleachers turned their backs on Soto, the crowd sent him a barrage of insults ranging from mildly offensive to extremely offensive.
While one fan put Ben Rice’s name over Soto’s on her pinstriped No. 22 jersey, another informed the Daily News that he traveled six hours by bus from Keeseville, New York, simply to boo Soto.
On Friday, however, the atmosphere in Queens was very different.
Before every plate appearance, Soto was still jeered by Yankees fans in attendance, but the mostly Mets crowd mostly drowned out their jeering.
Many of the 41,216 spectators gave Soto a standing ovation prior to his first at-bat.
And Soto came through.
Soto has increased his average to.266 after hitting just.231 with nine home runs in his first 57 games with the Mets. Soto’s 21st was Friday’s home run.
He hit 11 home runs with a 1.196 OPS, earning him the title of National League Player of the Month for June.
And Soto hasn’t slowed down this month, as demonstrated by Friday’s Fourth of July fireworks.
