WASHINGTON (AP) — Carson Benge led the New York Mets to another extra-inning victory, hitting an RBI single and a two-run double during a 10-run 12th inning in a wild 16-7 victory over the Washington Nationals on Monday night.
New York became the first National League team to score at least 10 runs in an extra inning since the 1919 Cincinnati Reds broke loose for 10 in the 13th inning at Brooklyn.
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Washington Nationals' Jacob Young, left, is checked by manager Blake Butera, center, and head athletic trainer Dale Gilbert, third from left, after he was hit by a pitch during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Monday, May 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel)
Washington Nationals' Joey Wiemer slides into home plate as he scores against the New York Mets on a double hit by José Tena during the second inning of a baseball game, Monday, May 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel)
Washington Nationals' Jacob Young, left, is checked by manager Blake Butera, center, and head athletic trainer Dale Gilbert, third from left, after he was hit by a pitch during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Monday, May 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel)
New York Mets' Bo Bichette watches his home run against the Washington Nationals during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Monday, May 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel)
From left to right, New York Mets left fielder Tyrone Taylor, center fielder A.J. Ewing, and right fielder Carson Benge celebrate after winning a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, May 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel)
New York Mets catcher Hayden Senger, left, and pitcher Craig Kimbrel, right, celebrate after winning a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, May 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel)
The Nationals made four errors and left 19 runners on base, but kept it close until falling apart in the 12th. Paxton Schultz (0-1) retired his first hitter on a sacrifice bunt, but the next six reached base, starting with Benge's infield single off Schultz's glove that put the Mets up 7-6.
Benge scored on Vidal Bruján's bunt single with the bases loaded, Brett Baty added a two-run single and Marcus Semien's RBI single made it 11-6.
By then, things had gone so horribly awry that Washington moved infielder Jorbit Vivas to the mound and put designated hitter José Tena in the field. There was clearly some confusion over whether that would be allowed, with Schultz coming back onto the field at one point, but umpires eventually let the Nats make the move. A.J. Ewing hit an RBI single and Benge added a two-run double off Vivas.
New York improved to 6-4 in extra-inning games, the most any major league team has played this season. The Mets, trying to climb out of an early hole, have won six of seven overall — with three coming in extras. Benge came through with the go-ahead swing in all three.
Schultz received his first career decision in his 27th big league appearance.
Baty and Bo Bichette homered for New York, which led 5-3 before the Nationals scored in the seventh and eighth. Both teams got a run in the 11th.
Huascar Brazobán (3-1) worked through a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the 10th to keep the game tied. After the Mets took a 6-5 lead in the 11th, he allowed an RBI infield single to Joey Wiemer that tied it, but after a double by Vivas put runners on second and third with two outs, the Nationals couldn't push across the winning run.
Baty's 451-foot homer in the fourth cleared the center-field fence and ricocheted off a taller wall that's part of the batter's eye.
Nolan McLean (2-2) starts for the Mets against Washington's Foster Griffin (4-2) on Tuesday night.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
Washington Nationals' Joey Wiemer slides into home plate as he scores against the New York Mets on a double hit by José Tena during the second inning of a baseball game, Monday, May 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel)
Washington Nationals' Jacob Young, left, is checked by manager Blake Butera, center, and head athletic trainer Dale Gilbert, third from left, after he was hit by a pitch during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Monday, May 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel)
New York Mets' Bo Bichette watches his home run against the Washington Nationals during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Monday, May 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel)
From left to right, New York Mets left fielder Tyrone Taylor, center fielder A.J. Ewing, and right fielder Carson Benge celebrate after winning a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, May 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel)
New York Mets catcher Hayden Senger, left, and pitcher Craig Kimbrel, right, celebrate after winning a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, May 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel)
Now a veteran of more than 50 NHL playoff games, Jack Eichel does not think the approach should be any different the deeper he and the Vegas Golden Knights venture into the postseason.
“We know we need to be better, and you want to continue to elevate your game both individually and as a team the further you go,” Eichel said. “That’s our goal.”
Easier said than done. Big boy hockey has arrived in the third round, with three of the top five favorites still playing in the conference finals. Vegas faces league-best Colorado in the West, while unbeaten beast-of-the-East Carolina gets Montreal after the Canadiens beat Buffalo in overtime of Game 7 on Monday night.
Game 1: Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Favorite: Colorado (2-5)
The Avalanche won the Presidents' Trophy for the best regular season and spent 156 consecutive days atop the NHL standings since Nov. 1, the longest run in four decades. They swept Los Angeles in the first round and beat Minnesota in five games, rallying to put the Wild away in overtime after falling behind 3-0 on the road.
Now, the difficulty level rachets up.
“I would expect Colorado’s stiffest challenge is going to come here in this next series because Vegas has been around the block,” former player and coach-turned-TNT analyst Ed Olczyk said. “They’ve got an experienced coach. They’re getting goaltending that they didn’t get for a lot of the regular season.”
Backstopped by Carter Hart and led by Mitch Marner, the Golden Knights are in the West final for the fourth time in their nine years of existence. It's their first under coach John Tortorella, who took over in late March and oversaw a 7-0-1 run to finish the season and more success in the playoffs.
“We feel really good about ourselves,” Tortorella said. “In playoffs, it’s not just the X's and O's and all. It’s how you feel, and the confidence level you have. I think we’re in a good spot.”
Colorado counterpart Jared Bednar is not worried about how his players will handle the spotlight getting brighter. The Avalanche are four years removed from their 2022 Stanley Cup run, while Vegas won it in '23.
“We have the exact same expectations as Vegas does,” Bednar said. “We have very similar experience, too: probably close to half the roster winning a Stanley Cup a couple years ago, no success since, and here we are facing each other. So, pressure on us is no different than the pressure on them.”
On the injury front, Vegas captain Mark Stone has been out since leaving Game 3 against Anaheim with an undisclosed injury. Avalanche star Cale Makar has been dealing with an apparent right arm or shoulder injury while fellow defenseman Sam Malinski and forward Artturi Lehkonen missed time late in the Minnesota series.
Game 1: Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT (TNT, TruTV)
Favorite: Carolina (4-11)
The Hurricanes are the first team to sweep through the first two rounds since the NHL went to four best-of-seven series in 1987. Their gift is 11 full days off before starting the East final.
“Obviously that’s not great,” Olczyk said. “That’s not ideal, but you’d rather have that than play back-to-back seven-game series and probably having guys being taped up to just get out there.”
Carolina captain Jordan Staal feels the same way, shrugging of the concern about rust and saying, “If anyone in the league was in a playoff series and they had the opportunity to win in four or seven, they would pick four.”
One more victory would tie the 1985 Edmonton Oilers for the longest winning streak to start a playoffs.
With back-to-back champion Florida not making it after injuries derailed the Panthers' season and other perennial contenders like Toronto and Tampa Bay out of the way, the sea has parted for the Hurricanes to get over the hump. They've won at least a round in each of Rod Brind'Amour's eight years as coach but have not yet reached the Stanley Cup Final.
“They're perfect — no blemishes,” Olczyk said, pointing to the goaltending of Frederik Andersen and strong scoring depth as contributing factors. “I felt that it was them: It was Carolina and everybody else. And could they do it when they were the favorites and when the path was opened, could they take advantage? And they have taken full advantage.”
After Alex Newhook scored his second Game 7-winning goal in as many rounds, the Canadiens are back in the third round for the first time since 2021, when divisional playoffs were in place to get through pandemic border restrictions.
“We’re going to give it our best. We’re going to keep rolling and see what happens,” Newhook said. “We’re a confident group. We knew what we were capable of all year. I think we believe that we can keep going and bring this thing all the way.”
AP Sports Writers Pat Graham in Denver, Aaron Beard in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Mark Anderson in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Montreal Canadiens right wing Zachary Bolduc, right, celebrates after his goal with defenseman Mike Matheson (8) during the first period in Game 7 of a second-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Buffalo Sabres, Monday, May 18, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Carolina Hurricanes' players celebrate after winning Game 4 against the Philadelphia Flyers in a second-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Carolina Hurricanes' Frederik Andersen warms up before the second period of Game 4 in a second-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers, Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Colorado Avalanche center Jack Drury, center, is congratulated by, from left, center Nicolas Roy, right wing Valeri Nichushkin, and defensemen Devon Toews and Brent Burns in the third period of Game 5 of an NHL Stanley Cup hockey second-round playoff series against the Minnesota Wild Wednesday, May 13, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore, right, celebrates his goal with center Tomas Hertl, left, during the first period in Game 6 of a second-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
