New York Mets right fielder Tyrone Taylor makes an error on a ball hit by the Washington Nationals’ Joey Meneses during the eighth inning of a game at Nationals Park on Monday in Washington.
AP photo
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The Washington Nationals’ James Wood, left, reacts after notching a base hit in his first major league at-bat during the second inning of a game against the New York Mets at Nationals Park on Monday in Washington.
AP photo
New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez, front right, and teammates celebrate after a game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on Monday in Washington.
AP photo
WASHINGTON — J.D. Martinez and Jose Iglesias homered in a six-run 10th inning, and the New York Mets held off the Washington Nationals 9-7 on Monday night to spoil the major league debut of prized outfield prospect James Wood.
Francisco Alvarez had three RBIs and two extra-base hits for the Mets (41-41), who stopped a two-game skid and improved to 17-6 in their last 23 games.
In the opener of a four-game series between NL East foes, Harrison Bader was hit by pitch leading off the 10th to put two runners on. Martinez followed with his 10th homer, a drive to center field against Hunter Harvey (2-4).
Tyrone Taylor doubled and scored on Alvarez’s first career triple, which hit high off the right-field wall. Iglesias made it 9-3 when he sent a two-run shot to center for his first big league homer since July 13, 2022, with Colorado.
Washington scored four times in the bottom half before Reed Garrett struck out Luis García Jr. with two on for his fourth save.
Tyler Jay allowed an RBI double to Jesse Winker and a two-run double by Ildemaro Vargas. Garrett came on and gave up an RBI single to Keibert Ruiz before fanning Garcia.
Jake Diekman (2-2) pitched a hitless ninth for the win, helped by a game-saving catch from Taylor in right field.
Immediately following a two-out error by CJ Abrams at shortstop, Alvarez laced a two-run double in the sixth that gave New York a 3-2 lead.
The Nationals tied it 3-all in the eighth. Winker came all the way around from first when a bloop hit to right by Joey Meneses bounced past Taylor for an RBI double.
Meneses had two hits and two RBIs for Washington, which has lost six of seven.
Washington’s top prospect, the 21-year-old Wood was called up from Triple-A Rochester earlier in the day. He singled in his first plate appearance and later reached on an error, finishing 1 for 4 with a walk. A native of nearby Olney, Maryland, Wood was acquired in the August 2022 blockbuster trade that sent Juan Soto to San Diego.
After receiving a standing ovation from the crowd of 26,719 in the bottom of the second, Wood fell behind 1-2, worked the count full and then lined an opposite-field single into left-center. He struck out in the fourth, grounded out in the seventh and reached on Diekman’s two-base throwing error in the ninth.
One of baseball’s highest-rated prospects, the 6-foot-7, 234-pound Wood was hitting .353 with 10 home runs, 37 RBIs and a 1.058 OPS in the minors.
The Nationals took a 2-0 lead in the third on RBI singles by Harold Ramírez and Meneses.
With two outs in the sixth, Derek Law came on to face Mark Vientos, who singled to score Bader. Taylor then hit grounder that went between Abrams’ legs, and Alvarez followed with a two-run double to left-center.
New York starter David Peterson allowed two runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings.
Washington left-hander MacKenzie Gore permitted one run and five hits over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out eight and walked one.
ASTROS 3, BLUE JAYS 1
TORONTO — Hunter Brown pitched six shutout innings, Jeremy Peña and Yordan Alavarez hit home runs and the Houston Astros beat the Toronto Blue Jays for their 10th win in 11 games.
After going 4-0 with a 1.16 ERA in five June starts, Brown (6-5) opened July with another solid outing. The right-hander allowed two hits, both singles. He walked three and struck out five.
Decked out in special red jerseys and caps, the Blue Jays lost on the Canada Day holiday for a second year in a row.
After Rafael Montero worked a 1-2-3 seventh inning, the Blue Jays loaded the bases against Bryan Abreu in the eighth. Abreu escaped by getting Daulton Varsho to ground out.
Josh Hader allowed a solo home run to Ernie Clement in the ninth but finished for his 13th save in 14 chances.
The Blue Jays have played 36 innings against the Astros this season and scored in just two of them. Toronto won 2-1 on April 2 when David Schneider hit a two-run home run off Hader in the ninth inning.
Clement’s homer off Hader was his fourth of the season.
Houston’s Ronel Blanco threw a no-hitter against Toronto on April 1, and five Astros pitchers combined on a one-hit win over the Blue Jays on April 3.
Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was scratched from the lineup Monday because of pain in his right hand. Guerrero was hit on the fingers by a 96 mph fastball from Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole in the third inning of Sunday’s loss to New York.
Toronto right-hander Yariel Rodríguez retired the first 14 batters before Peña hit a first-pitch homer in the fifth inning for his sixth of the season.
Rodríguez (0-3) allowed one run and two hits in a career-high 6 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out six.
Alvarez gave the Astros some insurance with a two-run shot off Zach Pop in the ninth. The homer was his 17th.
ROCKIES 8, BREWERS 7
DENVER — Jake Cave came through with a bases-loaded single over a five-man infield in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Colorado Rockies a victory against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Brenton Doyle homered twice and Charlie Blackmon went deep on his birthday for the third time in his career to help the Rockies outlast the Brewers.
William Contreras homered among his three hits for Milwaukee, finishing a triple shy of the cycle. Willy Adames had three hits, including an RBI single to ignite a three-run eighth that put the Brewers back in front 7-6.
Doyle homered for the second time in the game, a two-out solo shot in the bottom of the eighth off Elvis Peguero, to produce the fourth tie of the night at 7-all.
Tyler Kinley (4-1) picked up the win with a scoreless 10th inning, getting out of a jam by striking out Garrett Mitchell.
Pinch-runner Aaron Schunk began the bottom of the 10th as the automatic runner at second base. He advanced to third when Michael Toglia fied out against Joel Payamps (1-5). Milwaukee then intentionally walked Doyle and Nolan Jones to load the bases. The Brewers brought in an outfielder to load the infield with an extra defender, but Cave lined a clean single into the wide-open outfield to score Schunk with the winning run.
Milwaukee took a 4-3 lead on Contreras’ solo homer in the fifth, which came after plate umpire Brennan Miller ejected Pat Murphy. Miller tossed the Brewers’ manager for arguing a call that Joey Ortiz ran out of the baseline while eluding pitcher Austin Gomber’s tag on a bunt.
Colorado regained the lead with a pair of runs in the fifth and added another in the sixth on Jones’ run-scoring double.
The Rockies bolted to a 3-0 lead behind Doyle’s two-run drive to straightaway center field off Bryse Wilson in the second and Blackmon’s solo shot off Wilson in the third.
Blackmon, who turned 38 on Monday, got the green light on a 3-0 pitch and drove Wilson’s offering 431 feet to center field. He also homered on his birthday in 2022 against Arizona and 2011 versus Kansas City, which also was the first of his 14-year major league career.