Juan Soto, the showman, has finally showed up -- is he about to go on a tear?

LOS ANGELES -- The Juan Soto the New York Mets expected erstwhile they gave him the richest declaration successful sports past yet appeared successful his purest signifier Wednesday nighttime astatine Dodger Stadium by stealing the amusement without adjacent putting the shot successful play.

Twice, successful his 2nd and 3rd sheet appearances, Soto engaged successful theatrical seven-pitch battles with Dodgers right-hander Tony Gonsolin. And doubly helium won with enthralling walks, commanding attraction arsenic overmuch betwixt pitches arsenic during the action.

He flashed smiles waiting for Gonsolin's pitches, aft taking pitches, and aft cracking a enactment thrust conscionable foul down the right-field line. He nodded and helium shook his head. He backpedaled and helium high-stepped. He strutted his hips and helium Soto Shuffled. By the end, aft checking a plaything to instrumentality his 2nd locomotion and daring Gonsolin to propulsion implicit to archetypal base, helium and Gonsolin were jawing astatine each other.

He was loose. He was confident. He was yet Juan Soto, the showman.

"It's Juan Soto being Juan Soto," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.

That Juan Soto was absent during his archetypal 2 months with the Mets arsenic helium failed to execute to his lofty standards. Various underlying metrics -- expected batting average, expected slugging percentage, hard-hit percentage, pursuit rate, among others -- suggest helium was a unfortunate of misfortune, but results are results. And the results -- a .224 batting mean and .745 OPS done May 28 -- were disappointing for a superstar successful his age-26 season.

"Soto's been Soto for us," Mets co-hitting manager Jeremy Barnes said. "He conscionable hasn't had the batted shot luck to spell with it. And he's been alert of that."

Beyond the production, Soto's demeanor implicit the season's archetypal 2 months was notably antithetic from his accustomed comportment. He has drawn outer disapproval much than erstwhile for a deficiency of hustle, and his trademark flair successful the batter's container has seldom been connected display. His interactions with teammates person been dissected and analyzed. His assemblage connection has been placed nether a microscope. He's heard boos. The sound has been constant.

Before Wednesday's game, a 6-1 Mets win, Soto, who is playing connected his 4th squad successful 4 seasons, admitted adapting to his caller enactment and the value of a $765 cardinal declaration has been a challenge.

"I inactive request a small much time, but small by small it's been getting better," Soto told ESPN successful Spanish, erstwhile asked astir feeling 100% himself amid each of the changes and further pressure. "I've been feeling much comfortable."

Behind the scenes, Soto said he's leaned connected Mendoza arsenic helium adjusts to his surroundings. The 2 "talk a lot," Soto said, with a level of transparency helium called important.

Mendoza said their talks are astir ne'er astir what's happening connected the field. The topics scope from household to their location countries (Soto is from the Dominican Republic and Mendoza hails from Venezuela) to their erstwhile experiences successful the sport.

They chat periodically -- erstwhile a week oregon biweekly -- erstwhile Mendoza senses the infinitesimal is right. It's an attack Mendoza said helium takes with each of his players, particularly ones caller to the organization. The effort has resonated with Soto.

"We person bully conversations that, astatine the extremity of the day, assistance maine consciousness amended acclimated to the team," Soto said.

Last Friday, earlier New York opened a three-game acceptable against the historically abysmal Colorado Rockies, Mets president of shot operations David Stearns emphasized Soto's enactment down the scenes was not an issue. He said helium did not spot an contented Soto needed to repair. But helium acknowledged Soto is "trying to bash a small spot excessively overmuch close now."

"He surely wants results astatine a higher level than what we've seen truthful far," Stearns said. "I'm beauteous assured we're going to get those. But I besides recognize it is earthy erstwhile a subordinate signs a large declaration -- and this was a truly large declaration -- if the results aren't immediate, determination are going to beryllium questions and determination are going to beryllium reactions. And I wholly get that. And I deliberation Juan does too."

Soto went 2-for-4 with a treble and a stolen basal successful a triumph that nighttime to statesman a week of encouraging production. The illustration size is miniscule, but Soto has recorded six hits, 8 walks and conscionable 2 strikeouts -- adding up to a .484 on-base percent -- implicit his past 7 games against the Rockies and Dodgers.

Before Wednesday -- erstwhile helium went 0-for-1 with 3 walks and an RBI -- helium had clubbed 3 location runs successful 4 games and recorded extra-base hits successful 5 consecutive contests by being much assertive connected pitches successful the onslaught portion -- helium swung astatine lone 53% of pitches successful the portion successful May -- portion continuing to deed the shot hard.

Soto has posted akin mini stretches this season, displaying flashes of the endowment that had franchises bidding astronomical amounts of wealth for his services. But he's expected to prolong an elite output.

He went hitless with 2 walks successful Thursday's bid finale successful Los Angeles -- a 6-5 nonaccomplishment for the Mets -- and is inactive batting conscionable .229 with a .797 OPS, 11 location runs and a league-leading 50 walks successful 62 games this season. The numbers airy successful examination to the .285 batting mean and .953 OPS helium registered implicit his archetypal 7 seasons.

"It's a small hard due to the fact that it's frustrating not seeing the results successful what you're doing," Soto said. "It's uncomfortable. You effort to assistance the squad arsenic overmuch arsenic you can. But I person a bully routine. I person assurance successful it, and I cognize I've done it for each these years, each these days, truthful I person plentifulness of assurance successful it to get the results I want."

Mets starter Clay Holmes witnessed Soto nutrient the results helium wanted past play arsenic his teammate connected the New York Yankees. Soto mashed a career-high 41 location runs with a .989 OPS successful his level year, finishing 3rd successful American League MVP voting and collaborating with Aaron Judge to make the astir unsafe one-two punch successful the majors arsenic the Yankees precocious to the World Series.

"I inactive consciousness similar I'm inactive watching the aforesaid guy," Holmes said. "I don't consciousness similar something's conscionable brainsick off. Looks similar the aforesaid feline to me."

On Wednesday, Scott Boras, the antheral who negotiated Soto's record-smashing contract, called Soto's instrumentality to Yankee Stadium successful mid-May -- when helium received relentless boos and vulgar chants implicit a three-game series -- a "hurdle" successful his acclimation process. "It was the archetypal clip helium got to spot a batch of his aged teammates and they accomplished a batch together."

"It's psychological," Boras said of the transition. "It's different. You're treated otherwise due to the fact that of your declaration status. Everybody's aware, and you benignant of privation it to beryllium however it was, not however it is. And you person to larn the 'is' part, and it's a caller portion of the process."

A fewer hours later, Boras watched vintage Juan Soto resurface from his front-row spot down location sheet astatine Dodger Stadium. The Mets anticipation it was conscionable the start.

"Little by little," Soto said.