NEW YORK — Juan Soto‘s numbers are getting ugly.

The slumping New York Mets slugger went hitless again Wednesday and failed to get the ball out of the infield in a 9-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

After signing a record $765 million contract in December as a free agent, Soto is batting a measly .224 with eight homers and 25 RBIs in 55 games during a turbulent first season with the Mets.

The four-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger winner was 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout Wednesday in a dreary performance that matched the weather. He was booed by a sparse crowd at Citi Field, where only a few thousand fans were on hand for a hastily rescheduled game.

With rain in the forecast Wednesday night, the first pitch was moved up six hours Tuesday to 1:10 p.m.

Soto is 0-for-16 since lacing a two-run double off the right-center fence Saturday in a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. And nothing seems to be going his way: He lost a hit on a chaotic play Tuesday night when he was called out for passing teammate Brandon Nimmo on the basepaths.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza expressed faith in Soto before and after Wednesday’s loss, saying that Soto passes the “eye test” despite what the stats might say about his performance.

“Today was one of those days where he didn’t hit the ball hard, but I thought his foundation — his lower half — was in a better position,” Mendoza said.

Soto’s batting average has dipped 61 points below his career mark entering the season. He hasn’t homered since May 9, a span of 75 plate appearances, and he has just seven hits in his last 59 at-bats (.119).

With runners in scoring position this year, he’s batting .130 (6-for-46) with a homer and 16 RBIs.

That after racking up 41 home runs, 109 RBIs and a .989 OPS with the crosstown New York Yankees last season, when he helped them reach the World Series and finished third in AL MVP voting.

Soto has been particularly cold since May 16, when he got booed incessantly in his return to Yankee Stadium with the Mets. He seemed to take the harsh reception in stride by doffing his helmet to the crowd before his first at-bat, but Soto is hitting only .114 (5-for-44) with one extra-base hit since.

Most advanced metrics suggest Soto is hitting into hard luck. He ranks among the 90th percentile in several categories at Baseball Savant, though his bat speed ranks in the 73rd percentile, down from the 94th percentile last season.

Soto made three outs on balls hit at least 99 mph in Tuesday night’s 6-4 win over the White Sox.

“Yesterday was a perfect example of his season so far: 0-for-4 with three balls [almost] 100 mph,” Mendoza said with a chuckle Wednesday morning. “Hard to explain. But it’s baseball.

“Too good of a hitter. Too good of a player. He’ll be Juan Soto here.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

EDMONTON, Alberta — Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman is unlikely to play again in the Stanley Cup playoffs after suffering an injury in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals against the Stars on Tuesday.

Hyman was hurt midway through the first period in a collision with Stars forward Mason Marchment. The winger was clipped at the blue line and immediately left the ice while favoring his right arm/wrist. He did not return.

Coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed Wednesday the latest on Hyman’s status.

“Zach’s season is most likely done,” Knoblauch said. “He’s having surgery today. We’re not expecting him back.”

Knoblauch declined to specify the exact injury Hyman suffered. But losing Hyman will leave a significant hole in the Oilers’ lineup at a crucial juncture of their season. Edmonton has a 3-1 series lead over Dallas in their best-of-seven series following Tuesday’s 4-1 victory. The Oilers have a chance to advance to their second straight Stanley Cup Final with a win in Game 5 at Dallas on Thursday.

That becomes a taller task though without having Hyman available. He leads the NHL playoff field in hits with 111 in 15 games while adding five goals and 11 points on the scoresheet. Not only does Hyman skate on the Oilers’ top line with Connor McDavid, but he’s also a fixture on their power play and an important penalty killer.

Edmonton will have to take a by-committee approach to filling in the gaps.

“He’s put everything out there,” Knoblauch said of Hyman. “What he’s done the last two years in the playoffs, he’s scored numerous important goals in the playoffs, and this year [it’s not just] scoring key goals, but the physical department, how many hits he had. His two-way play was tremendous. And you know now that we’re going to be missing him, we’re going to need other guys step up.”

The Oilers have already tapped into their depth during this series. Connor Brown was out for Game 4 after he took a high hit from Stars defenseman Alexander Petrovic in Game 3. Knoblauch said Brown won’t play in Game 5 either, although he was “doing well” and there is hope he can return sooner than later. Viktor Arvidsson reentered the lineup for Brown after sitting out since Game 3 of Edmonton’s second-round series against Vegas.

Knoblauch felt Arvidsson — who played 11:54 and registered two hits — was able to perform despite the long layoff.

“He hadn’t played for a couple weeks and to come into an environment like that against a good team at this point of the season [was good],” Knoblauch said. “And then he just continued to get better. In the third period, he might have been one of our best forwards. He won a lot of puck races. Made some nice plays. His game was kind of what we expected. He played the way we want to play, and we’ll need more of that from Viktor, because with missing guys, especially on the right side with Hyman [out], it’s an opportunity for him to step up and play a more significant role.”

The main message is for everyone dressed for Edmonton to expect Dallas’ best game Thursday. The Stars have been outscored 16-8 in the series and have just three goals at even strength. Even though Dallas has pressured Edmonton with impressive force they’ve been stymied by a terrific Stuart Skinner in net (who has a .939 SV% and 1.76 GAA in the series) and an opportunistic Oilers team that has made Dallas pay at 5-on-5 and special teams.

The Stars have their backs against the wall now, but Knoblauch insists his club won’t take anything for granted as they look to take a second consecutive conference title.

“I think our confidence with our guys just being mature in their experience, they don’t be too high or too low,” Knoblauch said. “It’s not that they would ever think that we got this under wraps. That is definitely never the case with this team. They know how hard it is to win that last deciding game, and they also have a lot of respect for the Dallas Stars, knowing that they’re a good team. I think we’re just even-keeled.”

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Winnipeg Jets captain Adam Lowry is expected to miss five to six months after having hip surgery, the team announced Wednesday.

The timetable for Lowry’s recovery will lead him to miss at least the first month of the 2025-26 regular season. The Jets did not reveal the reason why Lowry required surgery, which took place on Tuesday, and came 10 days after the regular-season Presidents’ Trophy winners were eliminated by Dallas in Game 6 of their second-round playoff series.

From St. Louis, Lowry had four goals in 13 postseason games for the Jets, including one in double overtime in a first-round clinching 4-3 win in Game 7 over the Blues.

The 32-year-old Lowry has played his entire 11-year NHL career with Winnipeg, and will be entering the final season of his five-year contract.