Mets score six in 10th, hang on to top Nationals

J.D. Martinez hit a three-run homer in the top of the 10th inning Monday night for the New York Mets, who held off the host Washington Nationals 9-7 in the opener of a four-game series.

After New York scored six times in the 10th, Washington got four back in the bottom of the inning but fell short.

The Mets snapped a two-game losing streak and moved back to .500 at 41-41 after winning for the 19th time in 27 games since May 30. The Nationals have lost six of seven.

Washington nearly won the game in the ninth, when top prospect James Wood, making his major league debut, reached first and took second on a throwing error by Jake Diekman (2-2). However, Wood was stranded at third when Tyrone Taylor, who allowed Joey Meneses' game-tying RBI double to skip by him in the eighth, made a lunging catch of Jacob Young's two-out liner to right.

Hunter Harvey (2-4) hit Harrison Bader with a pitch to lead off the 10th before Martinez snapped an 0-for-12 skid by homering to center field. The Mets added much-needed insurance when Francisco Alvarez laced a two-out RBI triple and Jose Iglesias followed with his first major league homer since July 13, 2022, when he was a member of the Colorado Rockies.

The Nationals mounted a rally in the bottom half. Jesse Winker had an RBI double and Ildemaro Vargas laced a two-run double off Tyler Jay. Reed Garrett gave up a run-scoring single to Keibert Ruiz but he struck out Luis Garcia Jr., representing the potential winning run, for his fourth save.

The Mets trailed 2-0 entering the sixth, when Mark Vientos laced a two-out RBI single and Taylor reached on an error by shortstop CJ Abrams. Alvarez then hit a two-run double to give New York a 3-2 lead.

Vientos, Bader and Alvarez had two hits apiece.

Harold Ramirez and Meneses had consecutive RBI singles in the third for the Nationals. Ruiz finished with three hits.

Wood, a top prospect who was called up from Triple-A Rochester earlier in the day, went 1-for-4 with a single in his first major league at-bat in the second inning.

Mets left-hander David Peterson gave up two runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out two over 6 1/3 innings.

Nationals southpaw MacKenzie Gore allowed one run on five hits and one walk while striking out eight over 5 2/3 innings.

--Field Level Media