PITTSBURGH (AP) — CJ Abrams went 3 for 4 with a home run, a double and two RBIs as the Washington Nationals held off the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4 on Tuesday night.
Abrams hit a solo shot down the left-field line in the fourth inning to extend the Nationals’ lead to 4-1. He also hit the third of three consecutive RBI singles in the first inning, following Brady House and Daylen Lile, as Washington took a 3-0 lead.
The shortstop is 9 for 17 in his last five games with three home runs and seven RBIs.
Recalled from Triple-A Syracuse earlier in the day, left-hander Mitchell Parker (1-0) struck out five in two scoreless innings of relief as the Nationals won for the fourth time in five games.
Gus Varland pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save, working around a double and a walk.
Brandon Lowe and Joey Bart hit solo homers for the Pirates. It was Lowe’s seventh of the season.
Lowe became just the fourth Pirates player to hit at least four home runs and drive in 11 runs in a three-game span. Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner did it in 1947 and 1949, and Jose Castillo did it in 2006.
Pittsburgh’s Marcell Ozuna, who entered the game with a .070 batting average, had two hits and his first RBI of the season. Oneil Cruz’s 12-game hitting streak ended as he went 0 for 5.
Left-hander P.J. Poulin opened for the Nationals and gave up Lowe’s homer. Miles Mikolas followed and allowed three runs in 3 1/3 innings.
Mitch Keller (1-1) gave up five runs and six hits over four innings.
The start of the game was delayed 18 minutes because of rain.
Nationals RHP Jake Irvin (2-2, 7.09 ERA) will start on Wednesday night. The Pirates will use LHP Mason Montgomery as an opener.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
Pittsburgh Pirates' Brandon Lowe follows through on a solo home run off Washington Nationals pitcher PJ Poulin during the first inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Brandon Lowe, right, rounds third after hitting a solo home run off Washington Nationals pitcher PJ Poulin, left, during the first inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Washington Nationals' CJ Abrams crosses home plate after hitting a solo home run off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Mitch Keller during the third inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lebanon and Israel held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades on Tuesday in Washington following more than a month of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling it a “historic opportunity” but making clear that no breakthrough agreement would happen right away.
In a statement after the two-hour session ended, the State Department praised the two sides for what it called “productive discussions on steps toward launching direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon.” Hezbollah opposed the direct talks and was not represented, appearing to step up its fire on northern Israel as the discussions began.
“The United States affirmed that any agreement to cease hostilities must be reached between the two governments, brokered by the United States, and not through any separate track,” the State Department said.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter hailed what he called a convergence of opinion about removing Hezbollah’s influence from Lebanon, saying he was encouraged by a “wonderful exchange."
“The Lebanese government made it very clear that they will no longer be occupied by Hezbollah," he said. "Iran has been weakened. Hezbollah is dramatically weakened. This is an opportunity.”
Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad “reaffirmed the urgent need” for an end to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, “underscoring the principles of territorial integrity and full state sovereignty.” She also called for a ceasefire, the return of displaced people to their homes, and “concrete measures to address and alleviate the severe humanitarian crisis” resulting from the conflict.
Despite Hezbollah’s outright rejection, the talks are a major step for two countries with no diplomatic relations that have been officially at war since Israel’s inception in 1948. The latest round of fighting was sparked by Hezbollah firing rockets into northern Israel on March 2, days after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, Hezbollah’s key ally and patron.
As the talks began, Rubio said the Trump administration was “very happy” to facilitate but noted that “we understand we’re working against decades of history and complexities” that will not be quickly resolved.
“But we can begin to move forward with a framework where something can happen — something very positive, something very permanent — so that the people of Lebanon can have the kind of future they deserve, and so that the people of Israel can live without fear,” Rubio said.
The Lebanese government hopes the talks will help pave the way to an end to the war. While Iran has set ending the wars in Lebanon and the region as a condition for talks with the U.S., Lebanon insists on representing itself.
Hezbollah and other critics say Lebanon’s government lacks leverage and that it should back Iran’s position. Wafiq Safa, a high-ranking member of the militant group’s political council, told The Associated Press that the group will not abide by any agreements made during the talks.
On the day of the discussions, incoming fire triggered nonstop drone and rocket alert sirens in Israeli communities near the Lebanese border. Hezbollah, so far on Tuesday, has claimed 24 attacks on northern Israel and on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.
At least 2,124 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, the Health Ministry said, including hundreds of women and children. More than 1 million people are displaced. The deadliest day of the war took place last week, when Israel launched 100 airstrikes across Lebanon in 10 minutes, including in the heart of the capital, killing over 350 people.
The Israeli military has invaded southern Lebanon, a move some Israeli officials have said aims to create a “security zone” from the border to the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) to the north.
Israel’s defense minister says hundreds of thousands of people uprooted from southern Lebanon will not be allowed to return home until the area is demilitarized and Israel believes its northern communities are safe. Hezbollah, though weakened in its last war with Israel that ended in November 2024, still fires drones, rockets and artillery daily into northern Israel and on ground troops inside Lebanon.
Hezbollah enjoys wide influence in Beirut’s southern suburbs, as well as large swaths of the country’s southern and eastern provinces. Hezbollah-allied politicians hold two Cabinet minister positions, though the group’s ties have soured with Lebanon’s top political authorities, who have been critical of Hezbollah’s decision to enter the war last month and who have since criminalized the group’s military activities in the country.
The talks are the first between Israel and Lebanon since 1993. Both countries have relied on indirect communication, often brokered by the United States or UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon’s top political authorities, critical of Hezbollah’s decision to fire rockets toward Israel on March 2 in solidarity with Iran, quickly proposed direct talks in a bid to stop the escalation, hoping that Israel would not launch its ground invasion.
Israel did not respond positively until last week, after its deadly bombardment hit several crowded commercial and residential areas in Beirut, sparking an international outcry and triggering threats by Iran that it would end the ceasefire with the United States and Israel.
Lebanese officials have pushed for a truce, which Israel has ruled out. Israel has, however, halted strikes on Lebanon's capital following the bombardment.
“Israel’s destruction of Lebanese territories is not the solution, nor will it yield any results,” Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday. He came to power vowing to disarm non-state groups, including Hezbollah. “Diplomatic solutions have consistently proven to be the most effective means of resolving armed conflicts globally.”
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Tuesday denied having disputes with Lebanon and said, “The problem is Hezbollah.”
Hezbollah wants a return to the 2024 agreement under which talks were conducted indirectly with the U.S., France and UNIFIL as mediators.
Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations and Toqa Ezzidin in Cairo contributed to this report.
Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad listens during a meeting at the State Department in Washington, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
A veiled woman walks through a mass grave where civilians and Hezbollah fighters killed by Israeli airstrikes are temporarily buried in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Children look at a damaged play ground hit yesterday by projectiles launched from Lebanon in Nahariya, northern Israel, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Israeli bulldozers demolish homes in southern Lebanon, as seen from northern Israel, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Mohammed, 8, cries next to the coffin of his father, Hussein Makkah, during the funeral of 13 state security officers killed the previous day in an Israeli strike in Lebanon’s coastal city of Sidon, Lebanon, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
