Each Juan Soto at-bat has seemingly become an invitation for criticism, from his lack of hustle twice in the past week to him bizarrely staring down seven straight pitches — including six strikes — in his first two at-bats against the Red Sox on Wednesday night.

The Dodgers and Mets have added serious talent to their rosters since their last meeting in October, but will that change the outcome of the series?

On two consecutive nights, there were questions about whether Juan Soto was hustling down the line after putting the ball in play.

Smith quickly made it clear he not only has Soto’s back, but that he’s more concerned about New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge. Never mind that Judge, already a two-time AL MVP, entered Thursday hitting .402 with 16 home runs, 45 RBI, and an MLB-best 3.8 bWAR.

It hasn’t exactly been as New York Mets fans imagined. Through 49 games, Juan Soto has just eight home runs and 20 RBI, while slashing a very un-Soto-like .247/

Garrett Crochet likes to save his best for the best hitters in baseball. He needed just 10 pitches to strike out Juan Soto three times Wednesday.