Juan Soto delivered his first big moment at Citi Field, belting two home runs, but the New York Mets (21-11) couldn’t capitalize late, falling 4-2 to the Arizona Diamondbacks (17-14) on Thursday afternoon and dropping their first home series of the season.
Kodai Senga worked around early trouble, striking out six over four innings. He stranded the bases loaded in the third but gave up an RBI single in the fourth before exiting at 87 pitches. Brandon Nimmo helped limit the damage with a highlight-reel leaping catch at the wall to deny Corbin Carroll extra bases.
Newly acquired reliever Genesis Cabrera struggled in his Mets debut, and Max Kranick allowed a sac fly in the fifth and a solo homer in the seventh, though he kept New York within striking distance with 2.2 innings of solid relief.
Arizona’s Zac Gallen, entering with a 5.57 ERA, looked every bit like his Cy Young-caliber self, holding the Mets to just two hits and one run over six innings. The lone blemish came in the sixth when Soto launched his first Citi Field home run as a Met. He followed with another solo shot in the eighth, pulling the Mets within one again.
New York had a golden chance in that same inning, putting runners on second and third with one out, but both Mark Vientos and Nimmo struck out to end the threat.
Manager Carlos Mendoza’s decision to let Reed Garrett pitch the ninth instead of Edwin Díaz proved costly, as Garrett gave up a solo shot to Tim Tawa.
The Mets will look to regroup as they hit the road for six games, starting Friday when they open a three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals at 8:15 p.m.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].