Quintana and Nimmo lead surging Mets to 10-0 win for 2nd straight blowout of Nationals

NEW YORK (AP) — Jose Quintana extended his scoreless streak to a career-high 22 2/3 innings and Brandon Nimmo’s three-run homer capped a nine-run fourth as the surging New York Mets beat the Washington Nationals 10-0 on Wednesday night to finish a three-game sweep.

Luisangel Acuña homered again for the Mets (84-68), who have won 15 of 19. They moved a season-high 16 games above .500 and remained tied with Arizona for the second of three NL wild cards — two games ahead of Atlanta for the league’s last playoff spot.

“I’m pretty much convinced now we’re not in the regular season anymore,” Nimmo said. “We’re in playoff baseball and every win is extremely important. It decides whether we keep playing or not.”

Acuña, Mark Vientos and Starling Marte each drove in two runs as the Mets followed a 10-1 victory Tuesday night with another blowout of Washington. New York finished 11-2 against the Nationals this season, its best record against one opponent since going 10-1 versus the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1988.

“We’re close to the finish of the season and we’re in good position,” Quintana said. “We feel really strong.”

Quintana (10-9) allowed two hits, walked two and struck out four in seven innings to complete his season-long dominance of the Nationals. He blanked Washington for 21 innings over three starts — the most innings a Mets pitcher has thrown in one season against an opponent without allowing a run.

“He doesn’t throw many balls right over the heart of the plate,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “He nibbles a lot, but you’ve got to get up there and be ready to hit when it does come over the plate.”

Quintana hasn’t allowed a run since the third inning against the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 31. His previous career-best scoreless streak was 20 2/3 innings in 2014.

The veteran left-hander has won four straight outings and permitted one earned run in 32 innings over his last five starts for a 0.28 ERA during that span.

“He’s been in the league for a long time and there’s a reason why,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He knows that you’re going to go through stretches where it’s hard. And he’ll continue to find a way. It’s just basically trusting his pitches, his repertoire, in the strike zone.”

The Mets sent 12 batters to the plate against DJ Herz (4-8) and Jacob Barnes in the fourth, when they had their biggest inning since a nine-run fourth against Toronto on Sept. 11, 2020. Tyrone Taylor opened the scoring with an RBI double and Vientos — mired in 0-for-15 and 3-for-39 slumps — laced a two-run single before Acuña and Marte had run-scoring hits.

Nimmo followed Marte by hitting his second homer since Aug. 20, a 419-foot drive into the Nationals’ bullpen in right-center field. The outfielder had three potential homers sail just foul of the right-field pole in the Mets’ previous four home games.

“It was funny, Steve Cohen actually told me, ‘Hey, that one you finally kept fair,'” Nimmo said with a laugh, referring to the Mets’ owner. “And I was like, ‘Yeah, that one had no danger of being around the foul pole.’”

Acuña homered in the eighth — his second in two nights. A younger brother of reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr., the 22-year-old infielder is 7 for 15 in his first five big league games.

CJ Abrams had two of the Nationals’ three hits. Herz allowed seven runs in 3 1/3 innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Nationals: 2B Luis García Jr. (right wrist) didn’t play. He exited Tuesday’s game in the fourth inning after aggravating a chronic injury. … RHP Trevor Williams (flexor strain) is expected to come off the 60-day injured list and start Friday against the Chicago Cubs. Williams last pitched on May 30.

Mets: SS Francisco Lindor (sore back) missed his third straight game but played catch and ran Wednesday afternoon. … Rookie RHP Christian Scott (right elbow) will undergo Tommy John surgery with an internal brace added next week and will likely be out until 2026. Scott was 0-3 with a 4.56 ERA in nine starts before being injured in his final start July 21. … RHP Kodai Senga (strained left calf), eligible to come off the 60-day injured list next Wednesday, plans to pitch for Triple-A Syracuse this weekend and could still pitch as an opener for the Mets over the final five days of the regular season. … RHP Paul Blackburn (spinal leak in back) threw for the first time since making a rehab start Sept. 3 and hopes to pitch for the Mets next week. … INF Brett Baty (broken left index finger) went 0 for 4 with Syracuse in his first game action since Aug. 22. Mendoza said Baty could be a candidate for a recall by the Mets.

UP NEXT

Nationals: Continue their final road trip Thursday, when LHP Patrick Corbin (6-13, 5.45 ERA) opens a four-game series against RHP Javier Assad (7-5, 3.27) and the Chicago Cubs.

Mets: RHP Luis Severino (10-6, 3.77 ERA) starts Thursday night in the opener of a pivotal four-game series against the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies, who counter with ex-Mets RHP Taijuan Walker (3-6, 6.29).

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Washington Nationals' DJ Herz pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso reacts after grounding out Washington Nationals' Ildemaro Vargas during the third inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

New York Mets' Jose Iglesias, left, and Brandon Nimmo, react after Nimmo hit a home run leading Iglesias and Starling Marte to score during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

From left, New York Mets' Luis Severino, Starling Marte, Jose Iglesias, and Brandon Nimmo pose with a sign after Nimmo hit a two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

New York Mets' Brandon Nimmo, right, slides to home plate to score on a double hit by Tyrone Taylor as Washington Nationals catcher Drew Millas, left, attempts to ground him out during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

New York Mets' Harrison Bader, left, Brandon Nimmo, center, and Luisangel Acuna, right, react after Bader and Acuna scored on a single hit by Starling Marte during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

New York Mets' Jesse Winker, left, Luisangel Acuna, center, and Luis Severino, right, pose with a sign after Acuna hit a home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

New York Mets' Jose Quintana pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) — An 11-year-old Egyptian girl and her 18-year-old sister were among those killed after Mexican army troops opened fire on a truck carrying migrants earlier this week, an official said Friday.

The sisters, and four other migrants from countries including Peru and Honduras, were killed on Tuesday in the southern state of Chiapas.

An official in the state’s prosecutors office confirmed the identification of the two sisters and said their father was wounded in the shooting, but survived.

Federal officials, including newly inaugurated President Claudia Sheinbaum, again refused Friday to confirm the ages or genders of the six migrants killed in the shooting, which occurred on Sheinbaum’s first day in office.

Soldiers claimed they heard shots and returned fire and officials have studiously avoided saying the migrants were killed by army gunfire. However, that appears to be the case, and two soldiers have been relieved of duty and turned over to civilian prosecutors for questioning.

The killings placed in doubt Sheinbaum's statements over her first days in office that human rights will be at the forefront of her administration's policies.

Asked about her immigration policy Friday, Sheinbaum said only that the killings were under investigation and doubled down on earlier claims that the government doesn't violate human rights.

“First of all, human rights are respected,” Sheinbaum said. “That is very important, that is why it is called a humanistic immigration policy, because human rights are at the forefront.”

Three of the dead were from Egypt, and one each from Peru and Honduras. The other has apparently not yet been identified.

Ten other migrants were wounded in the shooting. but there has not been any information on their conditions.

Peru’s foreign ministry confirmed one Peruvian was killed and demanded “an urgent investigation” into the killings. Peru and Mexico have had damaged relations since a 2022 diplomatic spat.

It was the worst killing of migrants by authorities in Mexico since police in the northern state of Tamaulipas killed 17 migrants in 2021.

Sheinbaum has said the shootings are being investigated to see if any commanders might face punishment, and noted “a situation like this cannot be repeated.”

But she left out any mention of that Thursday at a ceremony at a Mexico City army base, where army and navy commanders pledged their loyalty to her in front of massed combat vehicles and hundreds of troops.

“In our country, there is not a state of siege, there are no violations of human rights,” Sheinbaum said, as she promised wage increases for soldiers and sailors.

The shootings Tuesday occurred near the city of Tapachula, near the border with Guatemala.

The Defense Department initially said that soldiers claimed to have heard shots as a convoy of three trucks passed the soldiers’ position.

The Attorney General’s Office later said all three trucks ignored orders to stop and tried to flee. The soldiers pursued them and reported coming under fire from the convoy, and returned fire.

One of the trucks eventually stopped, the driver reportedly fled, and a total of 33 migrants were found aboard, from the three countries already mentioned, as well as Nepal, Cuba, India and Pakistan.

The Defense Department said four of the migrants were found dead, and 12 wounded. Two of the wounded later died of their injuries. Sheinbaum refused to say whether any weapons were found in the migrants’ truck.

The area is a common route for smuggling migrants, who are often packed into crowded freight trucks. It has also been the scene of drug cartel turf battles, and the department said the trucks “were similar to those used by criminal groups in the region.”

Irineo Mujica, a migrant rights activist, said he doubted the migrants or their smugglers opened fire.

“It is really impossible that these people would have been shooting at the army,” Mujica said. “Most of the time, they get through by paying bribes.”

If the deaths were the result of army fire, as appears likely, it could prove a major embarrassment for Sheinbaum.

The new president has followed the lead of former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador in giving the armed forces extraordinary powers in law enforcement, state-run companies , airports, trains and construction projects.

It is not the first time Mexican forces have opened fire on vehicles carrying migrants in the area, which is also the object of cartel turf battles.

In 2021, the quasi-military National Guard opened fire on a pickup truck carrying migrants, killing one and wounding four. The Guard officers initially claimed some of those in the migrants’ truck were armed and had fired shots, but the governmental National Human Rights Commission later found that was not true.

And in 2021, state police in Tamaulipas killed 17 migrants and two Mexican citizens. Those officers also initially claimed to have come under fire from the migrants’ vehicles.

They argued they were responding to shots fired and believed they were chasing the vehicles of one of the country’s drug cartels, which frequently participate in migrant smuggling. But that later turned out to be false, and the police in fact burned the victims’ bodies in an attempt to cover up the crime.

Eleven of the policemen were convicted of homicide and sentenced to over 50 years in prison.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum shakes hands with National Guard officer Itzel Karina Valencia, right, during a troop review alongside Defense Minister Gen. Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, left, at Campo Marte in Mexico City, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)