Zack vs. Zach. and CJ Abrams Ends the Argument Early in Nationals 8-4 win over Mets

Nationals 8 Mets 4 (Nationals Park, Washington D.C.)

Mets record: 21-28

Mets streak: Lost 2

WP-Zack Littell (3-4)

LP-Zach Thornton (0-1)

S-Andrew Alvarez ( 1 )

Seat on the Korner: C.J. Abrams

We select a Star of the Game and virtually invite him to take his Seat on the Korner — just as Ralph Kiner did on WOR-TV Channel 9 during the early days of the New York Mets.

Continuing the tradition of Rheingold Beer sponsoring Kiner’s Korner, this season every seat is proudly presented by The Main Event Restaurant & Sports Bar.

With locations in Plainview and Farmingdale, The Main Event features 80+ HD TVs, fresh daily seafood, and Black Angus certified steaks—so you never have to choose between great food and the big game.

Tonight’s Seat on the Korner Star of the Game goes to CJ Abrams, who reminded everyone why he’s rapidly becoming one of the most dangerous all-around players in the National League. Abrams finished 2-for-4 with 2 runs scored and the game-turning three-run home run that set the tone early, continuing a scorching stretch that has pitchers across the league on notice. Over his last 19 games, he’s been on a tear, hitting .333 with extra-base power, timely RBI production, and his trademark speed mixed in for good measure. The 2019 No. 6 overall pick and 2024 NL All-Star is already stacking up with elite company in Washington history—joining Trea Turner as one of the only Nationals (2005–present) to post multiple seasons with 50+ extra-base hits and 25+ stolen bases. He also continues to rank among the National League leaders in RBI, OBP, OPS, and XBH, while pacing Washington with a .370 average with runners in scoring position. When the Nationals needed an early statement tonight, Abrams didn’t just answer—he swung the entire game in their direction. Ralph and C.J. would have become good friends by now as based on C.J.'s career numbers against the Mets .264 with 49 hits, 8 homers, 35 RBIs and 26 runs scored in 48 games, tonight would not have been his first Getty gift certificate.

Need to Know

• RHP Daniel Duarte was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse following last night's game.

• The Mets are 11-7 over their last 18 games.

• The Mets have won six of their last nine.

• LHP Zach Thornton was selected to the Major League roster and made his Major League debut. He wore #49. The 24-year-old, Winona, Minnesota native, is in his third professional season after being drafted by the Mets out of Grand Canyon University in the fifth round of the 2023 First-Year Player draft.

• Over three seasons between Low-A St. Lucie, High-A Brooklyn,

  Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse, Thornton went 12-9 with a 3.04 ERA (60 ER/177.2 IP) and 172 strikeouts...Overall, he has held minor

  league batters to a .238 (157-661) batting average.

• Over last 25 games, Carson Benge is batting .354 (33-93) with 19

  runs, six doubles, two homers, 14 RBI, five walks, two stolen bases.

• With his two home runs tonight Juan Soto now has five homers and ten RBI in his last seven games.

  
  

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• Mark Vientos has 14 RBI this month.He has hit safely in 15 of his last 21 games with four homers, six doubles during that span.

• C.J. Abrams has eight doubles, a triple, three homers, 21 RBI, eight walks, one hit by pitch two stolen bases and 17 runs in his last 21 games...He's reached safely in nine straight games.

• Zack Littell made his ninth career start against the Mets and second this season. With the win tonight he is now 1-2 with 19 strikeouts and just three walks.

• Craig Kimbrel had the longest outing of his career going 2 and 1/3 innings giving up 2 runs on 2 hits.

• The streak continues as it has now been 8 years, 11 months, and 20 days

  or 3,277 days since a Met pitcher wearing the number 49 won a game. Josh Smoker did it on May 30th 2017 in a 5-4 twelve inning win over the Brewers.

• Carson Benge recorded his first major league assist throwing out Keibert Ruiz at the plate.

• David Peterson gets the start tomorrow at 4:05 PM to try and salvage a split against Cade Cavalli

Turning Point

The Nationals wasted no time jumping on Mets rookie Zach Thornton, who looked like a young pitcher making his first start under the big-league spotlight and, well, acting like it too. If there were rookie jitters, Washington made sure they didn’t go to waste.

James Wood started things off with a groundout, but Curtis Mead got the inning going with a single, and Andrés Chaparro worked a walk to load the early traffic. One batter later, CJ Abrams delivered the moment that flipped the inning—and arguably set the tone for the game.

Abrams launched a three-run home run (his 10th) to right-center field, bringing home Mead and Chaparro for a quick 3–0 Nationals lead. It was CJ Abrams' 4th HR against a starting pitcher making their MLB debut since the start of the 2022 season which ties him for the most in the Majors with Aaron Judge, Teoscar Hernandez and Cal Raleigh.

For Thornton, the inning also included his first MLB strikeout, a small personal milestone tucked inside a much larger early storm. After Abrams’ blast, he still had to finish the frame, getting Dylan Crews on strikes and inducing a groundout from Daylen Lile, but the damage was already done.

What could have been a quiet debut inning instead turned into a lesson in how quickly the major leagues can punish mistakes—and how one swing from CJ Abrams can change everything.

Three Keys

ZACH VS ZACK

One of the keys to tonight’s game was the matchup between Zach and Zack — which sounds less like a pitching duel and more like a Disney Channel sitcom where two mismatched brothers accidentally inherit a minor league baseball team. Rookie Left-hander Zach Thornton making his major league debut for the Mets and veteran Zack Littell for Washington. Thornton’s night got off to a rocky start when CJ Abrams tagged him for a three-run homer in the first inning after singles by Curtis Mead and a walk to Andrés Chaparro, but the young righty settled in impressively afterward. Thornton retired 10 of the next 12 hitters he faced, struck out three, and blanked the Nationals from the second through fourth innings before departing in the fifth after allowing a leadoff double to Keibert Ruiz. In all, Thornton worked 4-plus innings, allowing four runs on four hits while showing poise after the early damage. Littell, meanwhile, bent but rarely broke over 5 innings for Washington. The Mets managed just two runs against him on five hits, highlighted by Mark Vientos’ second-inning double, Brett Baty’s RBI single, and Juan Soto’s solo homer in the third. Littell struck out three and consistently worked out of trouble, helping the Nationals maintain control of the game into the middle innings.

The Warren Report

Austin Warren’s early run with the Mets has been about as close to automatic as a middle reliever can get—until tonight gave him a rare reminder that even the best lines on the spreadsheet come with an asterisk. Entering the game, Warren had been lights-out across 10 appearances, holding hitters to a .157 average overall and a microscopic run of dominance since joining the club last season (a 0.75 ERA over 24 innings with 25 strikeouts), not to mention a stretch of nine straight outings without allowing an earned run over 14.0 innings. But on this night, the script flipped. Working just one inning, he was tagged for four hits and two earned runs, a jolt that sent his ERA soaring from an eye-popping .061 to a far more human 1.72. It was the kind of outing where even his normally reliable sweeper (nearly 49% usage this season at 85 mph) couldn’t keep barrels quiet, and the Mets’ bullpen door swung shut a little faster than usual. For a pitcher who had made a habit of erasing first batters (8 of 10 retired) and missing bats at key moments, this was less a trend and more a reminder that baseball occasionally humbles even its most efficient pitchers on any given night.

There Should be no "E" in Nasim Nunez

One of the key takeaways tonight for the Nationals was the continued all-around impact of Nasim Núñez, even if the box score only tells part of the story. The Bronx native went 0-for-2 at the plate, dropping his average to .193, but once again reminded everyone that his value extends far beyond hitting. Núñez was in the middle of things defensively with a pair of highlight-reel plays that helped stabilize the infield and keep the Mets from extending innings. A Rule 5 pick in 2023 who spent the entire 2024 season on Washington’s roster, he has carved out a role as a high-energy, defense-first spark plug. With elite speed—he’s been among the MLB leaders in stolen bases—and a knack for getting on base in bunches, Núñez has shown stretches where he changes games without needing a hit. Even in an 0-for night, his glove once again made sure he stayed part of the conversation in a Nationals win.