Astros playing for AL West title; Mets' Juan Soto looking ahead to future

Juan Soto didn't want to wait any longer to get in on the fun with the suddenly resurgent New York Mets.

Soto and the Mets will look to earn their fifth series win over a contender this month on Sunday afternoon when they host the Houston Astros in the finale of a three-game interleague set.

Left-hander Zac Thornton (3-4, 2.88 ERA) is slated to pitch for the Mets against Astros right-hander Ethan Pecko (0-0, 7.88), who will make his third big league start.

Soto returned from the injured list and hit the tie-breaking RBI single in the fifth inning Saturday as the Mets beat the Astros 6-2.

Soto sat out the previous five weeks due to a strained left calf and watched as the Mets won 17 of 31 games without him -- even though president of baseball operations David Stearns worked to dismantle one of the league's most disappointing teams by dealing seven veterans at the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

The only tangible goal left this season for New York is to avoid finishing last in the National League East for the first time since 2003. The Mets are three games behind the fourth-place Washington Nationals.

But Soto is hoping the final five weeks can provide a foundation for a return to contention for the Mets. New York's core next season likely will consist of Francisco Lindor, another veteran hoping to bounce back from an injury-riddled season, as well as rookie outfielders Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing and young starting pitchers Thornton, Nolan McLean and Christian Scott.

McLean earned the win Saturday, when he allowed two hits and an unearned run over seven innings. He has lasted at least six innings in 13 of his past 15 starts. All but two were quality starts.

"Seeing how everything is clicking for us, I think it's really cool to see -- it means a lot, not only for this year, but for the next years coming," Soto said. "I'm just really happy about it, the way we've been playing. And that's another thing too that motivated me a little bit more to come back, to try to join this positive wave."

For the Astros, the struggles of opener Bennett Sousa and bulk reliever Cristian Javier on Saturday offered another reminder why Houston lured former pitching coach Brent Strom out of retirement this week to serve as a consultant to current pitching coaches Josh Miller and Ethan Katz.

Sousa, making his first big league start in 99 games, gave up a run while getting just two outs before giving way to Javier, who didn't allow a run until the Mets' go-ahead rally in the fifth. He gave up three runs on six hits in 4 1/3 innings.

The only Astros pitchers with at least eight starts and an ERA below 4.00 are Hunter Brown and Peter Lambert. Brown, who was Houston's Opening Day starter but missed 2 1/2 months with a right shoulder injury, pitched 6 2/3 innings in a 3-1 win on Friday -- the longest start for the club since Hayden Wesneski went seven innings on Aug. 10.

Despite the pitching woes, the Astros are two games ahead of the Texas Rangers in the American League West.

Strom told reporters on Saturday that he is there to provide "just a different set of eyes and ears."

"It's exciting to join a first-place team," he said.

Neither Thornton nor Pecko factored into the decision in their most recent starts Tuesday night. Thornton allowed one run over six innings in the Mets' 3-2, 10-inning win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Across town, Pecko gave up five runs over 4 1/3 innings as the Astros beat the host New York Yankees, 9-7.

Thornton has never faced the Astros and Pecko has never opposed the Mets.

--Field Level Media