Jeff “McHits” Strikes Again as Mets Walk Off Nats 5-4 in Series Opener Extras
Jeff McNeil plays wherever you need him. Lately, that includes “hero.”
On Tuesday night at Citi Field, McNeil capped off a late-inning comeback with a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th, lifting the Mets to a 5–4 win over the Washington Nationals.
JEFF! BALLGAME! #MetsWin #LGM pic.twitter.com/xuPkGTdNFj
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 11, 2025
The hit came on the first pitch he saw—an elevated 94 mph four-seamer—and even off the end of his bat at just 68.7 mph exit velocity, it was enough. Luisangel Acuña, in as a pinch-runner and moving so fast he’d nearly gone to plaid (if you get that reference, I love ya), crossed home plate in a blink, and McNeil was mobbed in the infield.
.@JeffMcNeil805 FTW!!! pic.twitter.com/W4Bl4HATpf
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 11, 2025
It was the latest in a quietly surging stretch for the Mets’ Swiss Army knife. McNeil has now reached base in 13 straight games, and is batting .319 with 15 hits, six runs, four doubles, four home runs, nine RBI, and a steal during that span. He’s Jeff McBetterThanYourFavoritePlayer.
What can I say I’m a #ball #knower pic.twitter.com/X1cNg8z0hs
— Gab (@gabrielleraucci) June 8, 2025
Juan Soto: So Back It’s Not Even Funny
Juan Soto sure is having fun out there, nodding to MacKenzie Gore like he knew exactly what pitch was coming—and seemingly did. On the sixth pitch of the at-bat, an upstairs slider, Soto went the opposite way for a 373-foot solo homer to left-center—his 12th of the year. But it wasn’t his only clutch moment of the night.
Soto leaves the yard!
Send him to the All-Star Game! 🗳️👉 https://t.co/pvcqpJro0F pic.twitter.com/h2xFxazMow
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 11, 2025
Down 4–2 in the bottom of the eighth, Soto again saw a slider, this time from lefty Jose A. Ferrer. Continuing his absolute tear, he drove it sharply to right, where it skipped past a diving Robert Hassell III, scoring Starling Marte and putting the tying run in scoring position.
Throwing a near-sweet-spot slider to a generational hitter twice in one game is certainly a choice, and he made them pay for it both times.
Soto brings home Marte!
Send them to the All-Star Game! 🗳️👉 https://t.co/pvcqpJqQb7 pic.twitter.com/r3nBp2f1Up
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 11, 2025
Pete Alonso’s Timing is Poetic
Drafted by the Mets on this day in 2016, Pete Alonso came up with a chance to tie the game—and delivered. Facing Nats closer Kyle Finnegan after Soto’s RBI double, Alonso got a way low splitter and launched it into the left-field corner to score Soto and knot the game at four. He was tagged out after oversliding second, but the damage was done.
Pete comes THROUGH!
Make the Polar Bear an All-Star! 🗳️👉 https://t.co/pvcqpJro0F pic.twitter.com/Wn7V3tSptG
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 11, 2025
Early Offense, Gore Trouble, and Soto’s Arm
New York’s first run came in the second thanks to a McNeil bloop single—his seventh hit in 10 career at-bats against Gore—that scored Brandon Nimmo, who had reached with a single and stolen second.
Nothing in this life is as certain as a Jesse 👍🏼 after a good Mets moment https://t.co/eTbuDjfIX3
— Gab (@gabrielleraucci) June 11, 2025
Soto then introduced himself to his former club with that third-inning homer and got revenge on the basepaths too.
In the second, Soto fielded a double off the half-wall in right and uncorked a one-hop laser to the plate to nail José Tena by a mile, keeping the game in reach.
Ron Darling joined @SteveGelbs to break down Juan Soto’s outfield assist and a pitcher’s perspective on what Soto is working on with the help of the pitching lab for his throws pic.twitter.com/EQQ8hNIhhx
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 10, 2025
Pitching Carousel Gets the Job Done
Griffin Canning’s night started rocky—CJ Abrams doubled, and Nathaniel Lowe launched a 415-foot homer to put the Mets in a 2–0 hole before the seats were even warm. He settled after a third-inning RBI double by Abrams to retire seven straight and end his outing with a fifth-inning pickoff.
His final line: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K on 87 pitches.
Griffin Canning picks off James Wood to end the top of the 5th pic.twitter.com/jo99sRheee
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 11, 2025
Bullpen Kept Nats in Check
From there, the bullpen pieced it together with more urgency than polish. José Butto stranded an inherited runner in the sixth. José Castillo danced with danger, allowing three of five lefties to reach, but managed a crucial 6-3 double play.
Then came Justin Garza’s Mets debut: 98 mph heat, devastating cutter, two massive strikeouts. Talk about a welcome to Queens.
Justin Garza strikes out the first two batters he faces as a Met pic.twitter.com/5U8FyS1KcR
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 11, 2025
Díaz to Garrett: Lethal Late Innings
Edwin Díaz followed with a perfect ninth, striking out two with a slider that looks surgically re-engineered since they fixed his leg length discrepancy.
His inning: Keibert Ruiz K’d, José Tena lined out, Abrams K’d. Call it 1-2-3 cool, calm, and collected dominance.
In the 10th, Reed Garrett took over and made it quick—cutter for a strikeout, two unhittable splitters, then a flyout to Nimmo—another shutdown frame to set the stage for McNeil.
Reed Garrett sends us to the bottom of the 10th still tied! pic.twitter.com/alIhqSyahI
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 11, 2025
I agree with host Jonathan Baron, who spoke with Manager Carlos Mendoza on the Mets’ official podcast “Meet at the Apple” after the Mets swept the Rockies last week—Reed Garrett is just simply not talked about enough.
We do not talk about Reed Garrett enough
— Gab (@gabrielleraucci) June 11, 2025
Welcome to the House of Wins
Since Wyoming native Brandon Nimmo started swinging a sledgehammer in the on-deck circle, this Mets lineup has been borderline unstoppable—blending raw power with relentless situational hitting. I know there aren’t any polar bears on any farms in New York, but whatever Nimmo’s instituted with this has clearly been clicking for Pete Alonso.
Pete in the on-deck circle with the sledgehammer 🔨 pic.twitter.com/9T2rpX7kYI
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) June 11, 2025
The Mets are now 19 games over .500 and 25–7 at home—the best start in franchise history and the best home-winning percentage in MLB.
It’s almost as if Citi Field has become a graveyard for opposing teams. Coming to Queens means walking into the Mets’ house of horrors—where opposing leads don’t last, lineups get swallowed whole, and the NL East’s first-place Mets come out on top.
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) June 11, 2025
