Soto not in the lineup on Wednesday

Soto was drilled in the hand by a pitch during Saturday’s contest, but X-rays came back negative for any fractures and the superstar outfielder will be in the club’s lineup for Sunday’s finale in Washington. The 27-year-old slugger has hit .278/.397/.522 with 27 long balls, 68 RBI and nine stolen bases in just 110 games for the Mets this season. He’ll start in left field and bat second against Nationals’ left-hander DJ Herz.

It’s a massive relief for the Mets after Soto was drilled on the right hand by a 91.7 mph sinker during the ninth inning of Saturday’s blowout win over the Nationals. The 27-year-old generational talent figures to sit out Sunday’s season finale, but that’s not a guarantee. The positive news is that he managed to avoid serious injury, based on initial imaging. He missed a significant chunk of the year with a calf injury, but still has managed to hit .278/.397/.522 with 63 runs scored, 27 homers, 68 RBI and nine steals in 110 games so far.

Soto was drilled on the right hand by a 91.7 mph sinker in the ninth inning. He’ll presumably head for X-rays to determine whether he suffered any fractures. It’s been a nightmare season for the Mets and they can’t seem to catch a break. There’s only one game left in the season, which means it wouldn’t be surprising if this is it for Soto on the year. He was 2-for-4 at the dish prior to exiting. He’s hit .278/.397/.522 with 63 runs scored, 27 homers, 68 RBI and nine steals in 110 games this season. There should be an update on his status prior to Sunday’s regular-season finale.

Sure, why not. Baty will make his third appearance of the season at shortstop during New York’s penultimate regular-season contest with Francisco Lindor taking a turn at DH. The 26-year-old former top prospect Has shown some serious signs of life in recent weeks, hitting .395 (17-for-43) with three homers and 16 RBI since the start of September. He’ll be eligible at four different positions, including third base, first base, second base and outfield, which makes him an interesting late-round target as a bench option in fantasy drafts next spring.

On the bench with the left-hander Cody Bradford starting for the Rangers, Baty came on as a pinch-hitter in the top of the ninth inning with the bases loaded and launched a gargantuan 455 foot grand slam. It was the second longest grand slam hit by any player this season and tied Baty’s longest home run in his career. In a bit of a shocking turn of events, he has a .280/.353/.534 slash line with seven home runs over 118 at-bats in the second half.

Soto’s first hit of the night came on a double in the second inning that didn’t lead to any runs being scored. In the sixth inning, Soto would hit a three-run homer off of Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering to push the Mets’ lead to 6-2. It was the 26th homer of the season for Soto, who now has four homers in September and has hit safely in three of his last five games. He is slashing just .239/.329/.463 in the month.

As a team, the Mets tallied just four hits in the ballgame — all of them singles. Soto drew a one-out walk in the first inning but was promptly picked off of first base. He then walked again in the fourth and was erased on a double play. For the season, the 27-year-old slugger is slashing .270/.390/.515 with 25 homers, 61 RBI and nine stolen bases in only 439 plate appearances in his 102 games.

Baty missed the first two games of the series after exiting Wednesday’s contest with left knee pain. He’s back in there at second base and will bat eighth against Yankees’ ace Cam Schlittler on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

Baty remains stapled to New York’s bench for the second straight contest after exiting Wednesday’s game with left knee pain. The 26-year-old former top prospect appears to have avoided serious injury, but it’ll be Jared Young at first base to face Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in this one.

Baty appeared to tweak his left knee while coming out of the box on an RBI single in the second inning. He was replaced by Christopher Morel at first base. He’ll undergo further evaluation, and possibly an MRI, to determine the severity of the issue.