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MLB Mets outfielder Juan Soto felt right calf soreness when running from first base to third on a Bo Bichette single. Robert Edwards / Imagn Images Even after their best offensive performance in a week, the New York Mets’ uninspiring start to the season may have gotten worse. New York’s Juan Soto departed its 10-3 win over the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park with right calf soreness, which he felt going from first base to third on a Bo Bichette single in the Mets’ two-run first inning. Soto will get an MRI on Saturday. Advertisement “There’s obviously concern any time you send a player for an MRI, and those areas, the calf area, can be tricky, ” manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters in San Francisco after the Mets’ 10-3 win. “So we’ve just got to wait. ” Soto, the linchpin of the Mets’ lineup, was one of the few bats clicking early in the season for the club. After an 11-run outburst on Opening Day against starter Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Mets scored just 14 runs in the next six games. That changed against the Giants on Friday night, with New York posting four different innings of crooked numbers en route to a 10-run night and a comfortable win. In reshuffling their lineup during the offseason, the Mets sacrificed the reliable durability of players like Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo, instead bringing in bats that have more routinely missed time. Already that’s coming into play: Jorge Polanco, who replaced Alonso at first base, missed Friday’s game with Achilles tendonitis. Polanco has already been sidelined for two of the Mets’ first eight games, while Alonso missed only three starts in the last two years for New York. Soto, on the other hand, is slated to be one of those everyday bats. He missed just seven games in the last two years and has been on the injured list only three times in his nine-year career, the most recent in 2021. Tyrone Taylor replaced Soto in left field Friday night. If Soto is out for any extended period of time, Taylor, Brett Baty and Jared Young are major-league options to help out in left field. The Mets have veteran MJ Melendez and prospect Nick Morabito on the 40-man roster and at Triple-A Syracuse, and they recently signed Tommy Pham to a minor-league deal. New York already lost outfielder Mike Tauchman, who was in line for an Opening Day roster spot, to a meniscus injury in the spring. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Tim Britton is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the New York Mets. He has covered Major League Baseball since 2009 and the Mets since 2018. Prior to joining The Athletic, he spent seven seasons on the Red Sox beat for the Providence Journal. He has also contributed to Baseball Prospectus, NBC Sports Boston, MLB. com and Yahoo Sports. Follow Tim on Twitter @Tim Britton