Juan Soto slugs first homer for New York Mets against Astros

HOUSTON (AP) - Juan Soto hit his first home run with the New York Mets on Friday night, connecting in the third inning against the Houston Astros.

With two out and no one on, Soto drove a 1-2 pitch from Hunter Brown deep to right to give New York a 3-0 lead.

The 26-year-old Soto watched the ball as it sailed into the outfield and then slowly started walking toward first base before lightly flipping his bat. The homer traveled 390 feet.

He smiled slightly as he began to round the bases before pounding his chest and raising both of his hands skyward as he reached home plate.

His big hit came a day after he struck out on a full-count slider from closer Josh Hader that was way outside the strike zone with two on and two out in a 3-1 opening-day loss.

Before that, Soto singled and walked twice Thursday in his Mets debut. The slugger signed a record $765 million, 15-year contract as a free agent in December.

Soto struck out on his first at-bat Friday night before homering his second time up.