BASEBALL: CJ Abrams, Nationals add to Mets' slide with 1-run win

CJ Abrams hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the eighth inning and finished with three RBIs as the visiting Washington Nationals rallied for a 5-4 victory over the New York Mets on Thursday afternoon.

After Luis Garcia Jr. led off the eighth with a single and Daylen Lile avoided a double play on a fielder’s choice, Abrams delivered the decisive blow. He drove a 2-1 changeup from Luke Weaver over the right-field fence for a 403-foot homer that gave Washington a 5-4 lead. The blast marked Abrams’ sixth hit in 11 at-bats during the series and helped the Nationals win for the fourth time in five games. Washington has also taken six of its last eight meetings against New York.

The Nationals initially built an early advantage in the second inning when Jorbit Vivas scored from first on a throwing error by Mets starter Freddy Peralta on a comebacker. Jacob Young followed with a two-out RBI single. Abrams added to the lead with a broken-bat single to left field after Garcia doubled in the third.

Washington’s defense also played a key role in the win. Right fielder James Wood made two standout plays, including a leaping catch at the wall in the first inning to rob Juan Soto of a home run. In the fifth, Wood charged in for a diving catch on Bo Bichette’s sinking liner.

New York answered in the third when MJ Melendez tied the game with a three-run homer off Miles Mikolas’ 1-2 fastball to right field. The Mets later took a 4-3 lead in the sixth on an RBI double by Mark Vientos to the right-center field warning track.

The Mets have now lost 17 of their last 20 games, a stretch that includes a 12-game losing streak. During that skid, New York has been outscored 106-53 while dealing with injuries to Francisco Lindor (calf) and Luis Robert Jr. (back), both of whom are on the injured list.

Mikolas allowed three runs on three hits over four innings, striking out three and walking one. Left-hander Mitchell Parker (2-0) followed with three scoreless innings, while former Mets left-hander Richard Lovelady recorded two outs after Soto opened the eighth with a double.

Gus Varland escaped further damage in the eighth by stranding Soto at second base, then sealed the win in the ninth by striking out Ronny Mauricio to end an eight-pitch at-bat and earn his third save.

Peralta allowed three runs, one earned, on four hits over six innings for New York. He struck out six and walked three. -Field Level Media/Reuters