“Nobody said it’s going to be easy” - Juan Soto gets brutally honest on struggles after Mets' dramatic meltdown vs. Guardians

Juan Soto's ninth inning home run in a 4-1 loss against the Cleveland Guardians wasn't enough of silver lining as the Citi Field crowd wasn't pleased as the home team dropped their eighth game in their last nine. Soto's dinger spoiled a no-hitter bid from Guardians' Gavin Williams, breaking a spell of 13 innings without a hit for the Mets lineup.

The New York Mets have lost all momentum and have surrendered the lead of the NL East to the Philadelphia Phillies, who are currently 2.5 games ahead. Thankfully, the Mets are still holding onto the NL Wild Card spots but with the race heating up, Carlos Mendoza's side needs to produce better results.

Juan Soto made his feelings known about the recent string of results for the team after the game against the Guardians.

"Nobody said it's going to be easy to go all the way. It's a challenge. We've got to go out there and take it from them. Nobody is going to bring the trophy over here and give it to us, we've got to go out there and take it," Soto said.

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"Nobody said it's going to be easy to go all the way. It's a challenge. We've got to go out there and take it from them. Nobody is going to bring the trophy over here and give it to us, we've got to go out there and take it." - Juan Soto

Personally, Soto was in need of the home run, as since the All-Star break, he had been on a .164 pace with an OPS under .600 in the 17 games played so far. This was unlike the $765 million slugger the Mets saw in the month of June, where he was adjudged as the NL Player of the Month, averaging .322 at the plate with 20 RBIs and 11 home runs.

“I think I said it before the game, the past couple of games there’s been signs there that he’s more balanced, he’s connected, he’s short to the ball. And we know when you see that right there … I think he’s getting close,” Mendoza said about Soto's form.

Carlos Mendoza paves the way for 'adjustments' to aid Mets

The Mets manager hasn't shied away from accepting that his team needs to change the way they are going about themselves. He acknowledged the need to know how a pitching staff is planning against them.

"I feel like not only today, but the past few weeks or so, we haven't been able to do that," Mendoza said. "And good hitting teams are able to make those adjustments. They're able to say, 'All right, that's how they're attacking us. We've got to do this. We've got to flip the script here.' That's what I think is the next step for us -- to be able to recognize that."

The heat will be on the Mets as they travel to MLB best Milwaukee Brewers for a three-game series before returning home in front of a growingly irate Citi Field crowd for a six-game stretch against the Atlanta Braves and the Seattle Mariners.