NEW YORK (AP) — Jeff McNeil doubled home the winning run in the 10th inning and the New York Mets rallied past the Washington Nationals 5-4 on Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series between NL East foes.
Juan Soto hit a solo homer and an RBI double for the Mets against his original team. He also threw out a runner at home plate from right field.
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Washington Nationals' MacKenzie Gore (1) pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Mets' Jeff McNeil (1) reacts as he runs to second base for a walk-off RBI double during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Mets' Juan Soto, right, celebrates with Pete Alonso after hitting a home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Mets' Juan Soto follows through on a home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Mets' Jeff McNeil (1) gestures to teammates after hitting a walk-off RBI double during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Pete Alonso delivered a tying single in the eighth after Soto's two-out double trimmed it to 4-3.
New York (43-24), which has the best record in the National League, has won four straight and 13 of 16 to move 19 games over .500 for the first time since finishing 101-61 in 2022.
CJ Abrams homered, doubled twice and drove in two runs for the Nationals. Nathaniel Lowe launched a two-run homer off Griffin Canning in the first, and MacKenzie Gore pitched six steady innings in his latest terrific performance.
The left-hander had six strikeouts, taking over the major league lead with 114, and walked none.
Washington pitchers retired 12 straight batters before Starling Marte drew a two-out walk from Jose A. Ferrer in the eighth.
Soto laced an RBI double that eluded diving right fielder Robert Hassell III for New York's first hit since the fourth, and closer Kyle Finnegan was summoned to face the red-hot Alonso. He lined a single off the left-field wall that tied it 4, but was thrown out at second trying for a double.
Reed Garrett (2-2) pitched a perfect inning before McNeil lined the first pitch from Cole Henry (0-1) into right field to score pinch-runner Luisangel Acuña, the automatic runner placed at second base.
McNeil also blooped an RBI single to get the Mets on the board in the second.
Soto homered to left-center in the third. He said something after connecting and then stared down Gore a couple of times as he rounded the bases. The two were traded for each other as part of a 2022 blockbuster that also sent Abrams, Hassell and James Wood from San Diego to Washington.
Alonso has 19 RBIs in his last nine games. ... Gore has permitted just three runs and four walks in 25 innings over his past four starts, leaving him with a 2.88 ERA this season.
Nationals RHP Jake Irvin (5-2, 4.02 ERA) faces LHP David Peterson (4-2, 2.80 ERA) in the middle game of the series Wednesday night.
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Washington Nationals' MacKenzie Gore (1) pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Mets' Jeff McNeil (1) reacts as he runs to second base for a walk-off RBI double during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Mets' Juan Soto, right, celebrates with Pete Alonso after hitting a home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Mets' Juan Soto follows through on a home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Mets' Jeff McNeil (1) gestures to teammates after hitting a walk-off RBI double during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
