PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Juan Soto hit two solo homers and made a sliding catch in the left-field corner to rob Bryce Harper of a run-scoring hit as the New York Mets defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 6-4 on Thursday night.
Pinch-hitter Eric Wagaman provided the tiebreaking single with two outs in the seventh inning, and Marcus Semien followed with a two-run triple off reliever José Alvarado (3-2).
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New York Mets' Marcus Semien hits a two-run triple against Philadelphia Phillies pitcher José Alvarado during the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper walks to the dugout after striking out against New York Mets pitcher Luke Weaver during the eighth inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
New York Mets' Carson Benge, right, celebrates with Marcus Semien after the Mets won a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
New York Mets' Juan Soto hits a home run against Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
New York Mets' Marcus Semien reacts after hitting a two-run triple against Philadelphia Phillies pitcher José Alvarado during the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
New York Mets' Juan Soto, right, celebrates with third base coach Tim Leiper after hitting a home run against Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola during the third inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Soto took Phillies starter Aaron Nola deep in his first two at-bats to give him 16 homers this season. It was the 30th multihomer game of his career. Soto also took away an extra-base hit from Harper when he lunged and slid to catch a ball on the warning track in the third.
Huascar Brazobán (4-1) earned the win in relief of starter Sean Manaea, and Devin Williams worked the ninth for his 11th save.
Following a one-out walk and some shaky Mets defense, Williams allowed an RBI single to Justin Crawford before Kyle Schwarber lined out to right field with two runners on to end it.
Bo Bichette made his first appearance in Philadelphia since spurning the Phillies to sign with the Mets last offseason. He was booed lustily each time he stepped to the plate and finished 0 for 5 after six straight multihit games.
Alec Bohm had a single, a double and two RBIs for the Phillies, who dropped consecutive games for the first time since losing three straight in mid-May.
Philadelphia shortstop Trea Turner left after the second inning with a bruised right calf. He was hit by a 79 mph sweeper from Manaea.
It was the second time this week Turner exited a game after being hit by a pitch. He was pulled from Monday’s game against Miami after getting drilled on the right wrist and missed the next game.
After a rare Friday off as Philadelphia hosts a World Cup match, the teams resume their three-game series Saturday night. RHP Freddy Peralta (5-5, 3.90 ERA) starts for New York against LHP Cristopher Sánchez (8-3, 1.82).
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New York Mets' Marcus Semien hits a two-run triple against Philadelphia Phillies pitcher José Alvarado during the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper walks to the dugout after striking out against New York Mets pitcher Luke Weaver during the eighth inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
New York Mets' Carson Benge, right, celebrates with Marcus Semien after the Mets won a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
New York Mets' Juan Soto hits a home run against Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
New York Mets' Marcus Semien reacts after hitting a two-run triple against Philadelphia Phillies pitcher José Alvarado during the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
New York Mets' Juan Soto, right, celebrates with third base coach Tim Leiper after hitting a home run against Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola during the third inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
BRUSSELS (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lashed out at NATO allies on Thursday as he announced a six-month Pentagon review of American forces in Europe whose outcome will depend on how fast the Europeans take responsibility for their own security.
The review was yet another surprise for European allies and Canada as they learn to deal with an increasingly unpredictable ally. U.S. officials and senior military officers had promised to coordinate closely with the Europeans as America draws down.
In recent months, U.S. President Donald Trump and the Pentagon have sent conflicting signals about whether America is reducing or increasing its military footprint in Europe, as well as threatening to annex Greenland, a semiautonomous island that is part of ally Denmark. Just weeks ago, the Trump administration said that it would no longer provide as much military support should any NATO member come under attack.
“This will be a real review. It will be designed to ensure that NATO is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading, stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defense of Europe,” Hegseth told his NATO counterparts. “It’s a review that some countries will fail and others will pass with flying colors.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz later said the allies have long been aware of U.S. plans to pull troops from Europe at some point and that they must take care of their own security.
“We know that we must do more and we are doing it,” Merz said.
In a fiery speech at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Hegseth lambasted European allies for failing to provide U.S. forces access to bases in Europe to launch attacks on Iran, calling it “shameful.”
“These allies, they put America’s sons and daughters, our sons and daughters, at risk by denying them the predictable access, basing and overflight that never should have been in question at all,” he said. The review would also assess whether the U.S. has full access and overflight “when we need it.”
While defense ministers and military officers sat in silence, Hegseth railed against migration and gender equality policies in Europe, in remarks reminiscent to those of Vice President JD Vance in February last year that angered many Europeans.
“Instead of tanks and fighters and air defenses, the focus has been on gender equity and climate change and defense austerity. Europe’s borders flew wide open, welfare states expanded, defense budgets cratered, along with Europe’s belief in itself and its civilization,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth's comments largely mischaracterized European policies today. On defense, European allies and Canada have launched an unprecedented effort to boost defense spending and expand their armed forces. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte noted on Thursday that they spent $90 billion more on defense last year, a 20% increase over 2024. And while Europe accepted large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers more than a decade ago, most countries have tightened their borders since.
It does not augur well for a summit of NATO leaders in Turkey on July 7-8.
It was a rare visit to NATO by Hegseth, his first this year after skipping a meeting in February. The Pentagon chief did not stay long, leaving well before the gathering was over and hours before Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to press allies for more weapons for his country.
Speaking to reporters at Brussels airport before flying home, Hegseth said, “It was great to hear country after country say, ‘We’re going to meet our target. We’re going to meet our target.’ There are still a few outliers, and we will be clear with them as we do this review.”
NATO’s supreme allied commander, an American, is working on backup plans to defend Europe after the U.S. signaled on June 3 that it would no longer supply an aircraft carrier and support ships, aerial refueling planes and dozens of fighter jets, among other military assets, in a crisis.
The Trump administration insists that it needs to be able to plan for two simultaneous conflicts and wants more military resources at hand should it clash with China in the Indo-Pacific region.
Under NATO’s collective security guarantee – Article 5 of its founding treaty – the 32 allies pledge that an attack on one of them will be considered an attack on all. It does not oblige them to provide military support, although many likely would.
In essence, the United States is scaling back how it might help should an ally trigger Article 5.
The U.S. has by far NATO’s biggest armed forces. It does not intend to withdraw its nuclear weapons in Europe, which are key to NATO’s deterrence. To underscore that point, NATO’s Nuclear Planning Group issued its first statement in 19 years after Thursday’s meeting.
In the statement, it “recalled that the strategic nuclear forces of the Alliance remain the supreme guarantee of Allied security and underpin NATO’s extended deterrence architecture.”
The ministers “agreed to continue enhancing NATO’s nuclear deterrence mission by modernizing NATO’s nuclear capabilities, strengthening its nuclear planning capacity, and adapting to achieve its security interests.”
Rutte played down the impact of the U.S. decision, saying that the NATO Force Model – the system for organizing what forces member countries will provide commanders in times of peace, crisis or conflict – is just “a planning tool,” and not a reflection of what would actually happen.
“If war breaks out, we will all max out what we need to do to make sure we can fight the war,” Rutte told reporters. “In the planning phase, it is important to know what we can count on. What is in theory there.”
Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed.
Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrives for the EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
Italy's Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, fourth right, greets United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, front second left, during a group photo of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, center right, speaks with Norway's Defense Minister Tore Sandvik, center left, prior to a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in defense ministers format at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Alexus Grynkewich, front right, and Chair of the NATO Military Committee Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, front left, listen to a speech by United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in defense ministers format at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, right, speaks during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in defense ministers format at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, center right, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, center left, arrive for a media conference during a meeting of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte arrive for a media conference during a meeting of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a press statement on arrival for a meeting of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
