CJ Abrams and Jacob Young homer as Nationals return to .500 with 8-4 defeat of Mets

WASHINGTON (AP) — CJ Abrams hit a three-run homer in the first inning, Jacob Young added a two-run shot in the eighth and the Washington Nationals returned to .500 for the second time since the season’s first week Wednesday night with an 8-4 victory over the New York Mets.

Andrew Alvarez earned the Nationals’ first four-inning save since they relocated from Montreal in 2005. Washington improved to 25-25 after getting to 23-23 on Saturday before consecutive losses.

Juan Soto homered twice for the last-place Mets (21-28). It was the 29th multi-homer game for Soto, who came up with the Nationals and has 12 home runs and 26 RBIs in 35 career games against Washington.

The $765 million slugger has five homers in his last seven games overall.

Washington pounced quickly on left-hander Zach Thornton, who made his major league debut for New York. After Curtis Mead singled with one out and Andrés Chaparro walked, Abrams ripped a cutter just over the wall in right-center for his 10th home run.

Keibert Ruiz added an RBI single to beat a drawn-in infield in the second against Thornton (0-1), who allowed four runs in 4 1/3 innings while striking out three.

Zack Littell (3-4) allowed Brett Baty’s run-scoring single in the second, and Soto’s solo shot in the third brought the Mets to 4-2. Littell then retired seven of the next eight hitters to get through five innings. He allowed two runs and struck out three.

The right-hander was 0-4 with a 7.85 ERA in his first six appearances with Washington. In four games since, he is 3-0 with a 2.55 ERA.

Alvarez yielded Soto’s two-run homer in the eighth, but didn’t allow any other runners past first in his four-inning outing to earn his first career save.

Anthony Telford had the franchise's previous four-inning save for the Montreal Expos in 1999.

Washington RHP Cade Cavalli (1-2, 4.05 ERA) starts the finale of the four-game series Thursday against LHP David Peterson (2-4, 5.40).

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New York Mets left fielder Juan Soto can't get to a ball hit for a two-run home run by Washington Nationals' Jacob Young during the eighth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

New York Mets pitcher Zach Thornton throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

New York Mets' Juan Soto celebrates his two-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Nationals' Keibert Ruiz, left, and Andrew Alvarez celebrate after a baseball game against the New York Mets, Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Nationals' CJ Abrams hits a three-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

CHICAGO (AP) — Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is having a difficult week.

Crow-Armstrong made an ugly defensive mistake for the second straight day on Wednesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers. He also had a heated exchange with a fan during Sunday's 9-8 loss to the crosstown Chicago White Sox.

Milwaukee had runners on first and second with one out in the second inning of the series finale when David Hamilton hit a liner up the middle. The ball went under Crow-Armstrong's glove and rolled toward the warning track.

Hamilton picked up speed as he rounded first and scored with a headfirst slide, giving the Brewers a 3-0 lead. It was ruled a single for Hamilton and Crow-Armstrong's third error of the season.

Crow-Armstrong also dropped Sal Frelick's leadoff flyball in the fourth during Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Brewers. Frelick advanced on Hamilton's single, but was stranded when Ben Brown wiggled out of the jam.

The 24-year-old Crow-Armstrong is widely regarded as one of baseball's best defensive outfielders. He won his first Gold Glove last year.

He was playing center on Sunday against the White Sox when he was heckled by a woman after he came up empty on an attempt for a leaping catch. He responded with a vulgar message punctuated by an expletive.

Crow-Armstrong said Monday he regretted his choice of words during the exchange with the fan. He was fined by Major League Baseball, according to a person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the punishment wasn't announced by the league.

“I’m just bummed out about the word choice, and that a bunch of little kids go and probably find their way to social media and see that as well,” he said.

Crow-Armstrong is one of Chicago’s biggest stars after hitting .247 with a career-high 31 homers and 95 RBIs last season. He agreed to a $115 million, six-year contract in March.

He struck out in each of his first two at-bats Wednesday night. He was batting .229 with five homers, 20 RBIs and 12 steals in 49 games coming into the day.

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

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong reacts after flying out to Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Chicago, Monday, May 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)