Francisco Lindor hit a tiebreaking single in the fourth inning Friday night for the host New York Mets, who overcame an early three-run deficit and never looked back to beat the Washington Nationals 12-6 in the opener of a three-game series.
Juan Soto followed Lindor with a three-run homer for the Mets (80-74), who have won four of five and maintained their two-game lead over Cincinnati in the race for the final National League wild-card spot. The Reds (74-76) beat the Chicago Cubs 7-4 on Friday.
The Arizona Diamondbacks (77-77), who entered the day tied with the Reds, lost 8-2 to the Philadelphia Phillies later Friday night to fall three games behind New York.
CJ Abrams went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs for the Nationals (62-92), who have lost five straight. Abrams, Josh Bell and Daylen Lile had run-scoring extra-base hits during a four-run third inning against Mets rookie right-hander Brandon Sproat, whose throwing error on Jorge Alfaro’s infield single allowed Paul DeJong to score all the way from first for Washington’s first run.
Lindor went 3-for-4 with a walk. He scored the Mets’ first two runs — he raced around third when right fielder Dylan Crews misplayed Pete Alonso’s single in the first before trotting home on Alonso’s single in the third — before New York finished rallying against starter Andrew Alvarez (1-1) and PJ Poulin in the fourth.
Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte opened the inning with singles and scored on Francisco Alvarez’s double. Brett Baty was hit by a pitch and Jose Siri struck out before Lindor greeted Poulin with the single that scored Alvarez.
Soto homered four pitches later.
Abrams hit a two-run homer off Huascar Brazoban in the fifth before Brooks Raley (2-0) got three outs spanning the fifth and sixth.
Marte had a run-scoring groundout in the seventh. Luisangel Acuna drew a bases-loaded walk in the eighth before Nimmo hit a two-run single.
Sproat gave up four runs on four hits and two walks while striking out five over four innings. Alvarez surrendered six runs (four earned) on seven hits and one walk while striking out four over 3 1/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
