Juan Soto ended the Mets’ 6-5 loss to the Cubs on Saturday night with a grounder to second, completing an 0-for-5 night for the slugger.

He has reduced the frequency of hitting ground balls compared to earlier in the season, leading to a recent hot streak, although this was not evident in the game against Chicago. Hitting coach Eric Chávez is aware that Soto’s vulnerability lies in hitting ground balls.

“Everyone has a weakness, and for him, it has always been hitting ground balls,” Chávez commented on Soto before the game. “That has been his struggle. It’s a trade-off with the strengths in his game. Given his flat swing, hitting the top of the ball tends to occur when the ball is down. This has been consistent throughout his career. Even when playing against him, we were conscious of this tendency.”

The solution: Nothing.

“There is no need for any major changes,” Chávez remarked. “Honestly, he is just more at ease. There was nothing fundamentally wrong with his swing. By observing his demeanor, not just as a coach but as an individual, you can see he is more relaxed.”

And there’s no way to rush that process.

“Everyone has to go through that themselves,’’ Chávez said. “People say, ‘He signed an $800 million contract, he should get a hit every at-bat. That’s not reality. He made a big decision to come here [from the Yankees]. I know it’s only 20 minutes away [from The Bronx], but it’s night and day. It’s completely different. Of course, it took time to adjust.”

After seeing teams swipe bases against them at an alarming rate early last season, the Mets brought in Luis Torrens and his defensive prowess helped turn that part of their game.

Still, the Mets allowed the fifth-most steals in the majors.

So far this season, with Francisco Alvarez having improved that part of his game, the Mets have thrown out 14 potential base stealers — tied for the most in the majors — and have given up just 14, the second fewest in the league.

Alvarez made a throwing error in the first inning on Saturday, but also picked off Michael Busch at first base in the third.

In the bottom of the third, Alvarez was drilled in the left hand by a 95 mph four-seamer by Cade Horton, who was making his MLB debut.

Alvarez was checked out by trainers at first base and remained in the game.

A day after the organization’s No. 2 pitching prospect, Nolan McLean, threw seven scoreless innings in his debut at Triple-A Syracuse, the Mets third-ranked pitching prospect according to MLB Pipeline, Jonah Tong, pitched 6 ²/₃ perfect innings for Double-A Binghamton on Saturday, part of a seven-inning perfect game in the second game of a doubleheader.

The 21-year-old Tong, also a right-hander, whiffed 13 before being replaced with one out to go in the game after 99 pitches by TJ Shook, who got the final out.

Also with Binghamton Saturday, Ronny Mauricio took another step forward in his comeback from a torn ACL suffered two offseasons ago, as the infielder played his first game at Double-A in his rehab assignment.

Mauricio played third base and hit an RBI double in the first game of a doubleheader against Reading.

Jose Siri, out with a fractured left tibia, is progressing better than anticipated, according to Mendoza. “I didn’t think he’d be doing some running and hitting in the cages, tee and toss, playing catch [and] doing some light sprints.”

There’s still no timetable for the outfielder’s return.