Juan Sotos early exit hangs over Mets all-around rout of Giants

SAN FRANCISCO — The bats erupted and Nolan McLean dominated, but Friday night was defined for the Mets by who wasn’t on the field following his first at-bat.Juan Soto, bothered by right-calf tightness, departed after only a half inning, leaving the Mets to wonder when their best player will return.Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.

Soto singled in the first inning and felt discomfort running from first to third on Bo Bichette’s RBI single.Now the Mets, who snapped a three-game skid with a 10-3 victory over the Giants at Oracle Park, wait on their $765 million outfielder.“We don’t have much other than what was announced, right calf tightness,” manager Carlos Mendoza said, adding that Soto will receive imaging on Saturday.What is Mendoza’s concern level?“There is obviously concern every time you send a player for an MRI and the calf area can be tricky,” he said.

“We have just got to wait.”McLean took a perfect game into the sixth but never escaped the inning, his shot at history spoiled by patient at-bats as his pitch count climbed.The right-hander indicated his cutter was the only pitch he felt comfortable with, forcing him deeper into counts than he would have liked.He lasted 5 1/3 innings and allowed two runs (one unearned) on one hit and two walks with four strikeouts, departing after 93 pitches.“I was just trying to piece it together,” McLean said.

“Nothing felt incredibly great.Everything felt OK toward later in the game, but just kind of the full counts snuck up on me there at the end.

I got a little bit fatigued by the end of it.”McLean said he didn’t realize he had carried a perfect game into the sixth.Sign up for Inside the Mets by Mike Puma, exclusively on Sports+ Please provide a valid email.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Enjoy this Po...