NEW YORK — Early in the 2025 season, there had been groans from the crowd at Citi Field as Juan Soto failed to live up to the unreal expectations heaped on by his record $765 million contract.

Soto was slow out of the gate. He had only delivered three home runs and 12 RBIs through April — a seemingly unreasonable pace of 16 home runs by season’s end. He was batting .241 with a .701 OPS.

Fast-forward nearly two months and an MVP chant slipped out for Soto from somewhere in the crowd at Citi Field on Wednesday night. As the 26-year-old superstar found his spot in right field in the top of the eighth inning, the crowd in the section behind him was on their feet and chanting his name.

Soto’s performance was what Mets fans had envisioned when he slipped on the orange-and-blue at Citi Field last offseason. Soto blasted a pair of solo home runs to provide a much-needed spark in the Mets’ 7-3 victory over the Braves in front of 38,275 fans on Wednesday.

“For me, I’ve been feeling the same way. It’s the same way all the way,” Soto said. “Just feeling myself, trying to help the team anyway I can do it. This is the way it is. It’s just baseball. Sometimes you’re gonna be lucky, sometimes you’re not.”

The wait was finally over for the Mets.

After dropping their first five games against the Braves, including two blown leads, two lopsided losses and one close one, the Mets were finally able to get the upper hand.

The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Mets as they improved to 47-34 at the season’s halfway mark.

“It’s a sign that we’re going to we’re going to start turning the page here, turning the tide,” Carlos Mendoza said. “I thought yesterday, even though it was just a couple of innings throughout the whole game, I saw a lot better at-bats and approach, especially from the bottom of the lineup. And then we saw it again today.”

Juan Soto puts on a spectacle

Soto normally puts his head down when he knows the ball is gone, but this time, he paused halfway between home plate and first base, pivoted toward the dugout and pounded his chest.

The ball cleared the center-field fence in a near-identical spot to his first home run, finding the narrow gap between the visiting bullpen and the front of the center-field seats. But this one meant history.

Soto’s 27 multi-home run games are the the most in Major League Baseball before age 27, breaking a tie with Jimmie Foxx.

“I know what I was chasing in that at-bat, so whenever I see the ball gone, I feel really emotional right there,” Soto said. “We’re winning the game, helping the team to keep increasing the lead, but most important for me when you look back at what I did and what I’ve been doing these past few years, I think that’s really special for me.”

Soto’s second home run of the night off Austin Cox moved him into the Mets’ lead with 19 home runs on the season. He’s now on pace for 38 home runs, while upping his average to .256 and his OPS to .898.

While the Mets have scuffled over the last dozen games, Soto has been surging. After going 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs, Soto is now 25-for-77 (.325) with 10 home runs, 18 RBI, 22 runs and 23 walks in 23 games in the month of June.

“It’s the same guy we saw early in the year when it seemed like the world was coming to an end because Juan Soto wasn’t hitting,” Mendoza said. “It’s the same guy that we’re seeing right now.

“Back then, he didn’t get too low. Right now, he’s not too high. That for me and for all of us is really impressive to see that type of consistency and through a stretch when we’re not winning games.”

Ronny Mauricio, Brett Baty spark breakout

As Soto set the tone, the Mets offense delivered a breakthrough performance.

With Braves rookie Didier Fuentes making only his second major league start, the Mets piled on the pressure in the fourth inning and broke away. Soto opened the fourth inning with a solo home run and then the Mets poured on five more hits in the inning, including a double by Jeff McNeil and RBI singles by Brett Baty and Brandon Nimmo to put the Mets ahead 6-1

“Put together really good at-bats. Getting a lead was huge. That’s who we are,” said McNeil, who was 2-for-4 with a run. “We’re tough outs. I think we were tough outs tonight and kept putting it on them and hopefully roll it into tomorrow.”

Two nights after Mendoza said that the Mets had not been getting much production from the bottom of the lineup, they answered the call.

Ronny Mauricio opened the scoring with a leadoff home run and finished with his first three-hit game of his career while scoring twice. His team in New York could be fleeting with Mark Vientos due to return on Thursday.

“He got himself in really good hitter’s counts, and he was short to the ball, used the whole field, obviously the pull side for the homer,” Mendoza said. “It was good to see him from the right side, but overall, better swing decisions and I think he was more under control with balance there.”

Baty notched multi-hit games twice in his last three games. Before that, his previous multi-hit game was May 28. He also drove in a run.

Clay Holmes protects Mets’ advantage

The Mets have been seeking regular capable performances from their starting pitching throughout their rough stretch.

On Tuesday night, they wasted one as Frankie Montas delivered five scoreless innings as the Mets built a 3-0 lead only to see their bullpen surrender a five-run sixth inning.

One night later, Holmes allowed one earned run over five innings while scattering three hits and four walks and the offense backed him up in his eighth win. The lone damage from the Braves came when Drake Baldwin clocked a solo home run to center field.

“It was nice to make it through five there,” Holmes said. “Got in some deep counts that I think kind of limited it there to five innings, but I feel like I was able to make some pitches with guys on and was able to strand some runners.”

The Mets right-hander had some major assistance in the opening frame as McNeil scaled the wall to rob Marcell Ozuna of a potential two-run home run. And that defensive gem set the tone for the rest of the night.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets: Juan Soto hits two home runs, stays hot in June in win over Braves