Mets slugger Juan Soto goes on 10-day injured list with left calf strain

NEW YORK — New York Mets slugger Juan Soto was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday because of a left calf strain.

Soto walked twice against Los Angeles Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki in Friday night's 4-2 loss at Citi Field before being replaced by pinch-hitter Jorge Polanco in the sixth inning with the score tied at 1.

After the game, Mets interim manager Andy Green said Soto felt discomfort pushing off when running to second base. He had been nursing the nagging injury since returning from the All-Star break last week.

Soto is hitting .283 with 21 homers, 52 RBIs and an NL-best .947 OPS in 84 games this season. He missed 15 games from April 4-21 with a right calf strain, and the Mets went 3-12 without him — losing their last 12 games during that stretch.

Soto sat out Wednesday's 4-3 loss at Milwaukee but was back in the lineup Friday after the Mets had a day off.

The lone All-Star for the last-place Mets this year, Soto exited the team's first game after the break in the eighth inning on July 16 at Philadelphia. New York was off the following day, and he returned to the lineup as the designated hitter on Saturday and Sunday against the Phillies. He played left field Monday in Milwaukee and was the DH on Tuesday.

To replace Soto on the active roster, the Mets recalled corner infielder and outfielder Eric Wagaman from Triple-A Syracuse. Wagaman was hitting .162 with two homers and four RBIs in 21 major league games this season.

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This story corrects Soto's batting average and removes an incorrect reference to Bo Bichette grounding into a double play in the second inning Friday night. Bichette grounded into a double play in the third inning.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

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