Mets top Nationals in 10th to get back to .500

WASHINGTON — For as much of a mess as the Mets have been in recent weeks, give them this: They are beating the teams they are supposed to beat.

They defeated the Nationals, 6-2, in 10 innings on Friday in the opener of a five-game series.

Pete Alonso had a go-ahead single against Austin Voth in the top of the 10th, a poke to right-centerfield that drove in Francisco Lindor, who was the automatic runner on second. Kevin Pillar (3-for-5) added a two-run double and Jonathan Villar (4-for-6) had an RBI single.

The Mets’ sixth consecutive win got them back to .500 — 67-67 — and within four games of first-place Atlanta in the NL East.

A week ago, that division deficit was 8 1⁄2 games.

"You can’t make the playoffs if you’re below .500," Alonso said. "It’s a good stepping stone."

The offensive outburst in the final frame rescued the Mets after Edwin Diaz’s blown save in the ninth. He allowed two runs, including Juan Soto’s homer on his first pitch, to snap his four-week scoreless streak.

But after Riley Adams’ one-out double tied it, with the potential winning run on third base, Diaz hung on. He struck out Carter Kieboom on three pitches and got Luis Garcia to ground out to second to send the game to the extra inning.

This Diaz meltdown wasn’t the nuclear kind.

"The experience probably makes him slow things down a little more than what he did a couple of years ago," manager Luis Rojas said.

Thank the Nationals (55-78) for keeping the Mets’ season alive. Since the start of August, they are 6-1 against Washington and 6-18 against everyone else.

A handful of plays Friday helped show why.

The Mets scored two runs in five innings against Seaford native Sean Nolin, one each in a pair of rallies highlighted by a bloop extra-base hit to rightfield.

In the second, Javier Baez hit a pop-up to right that fell in in front of Soto. Hustling all the way, Baez wound up with a double. He scored on Michael Conforto’s single.

In the third, Brandon Nimmo (walk) was on first base with two outs. Alonso skied a fly ball to right and Soto ran a long way but it fell in for an RBI triple.

"Just out there being super- aggressive on the bases and trying to play good baseball," Alonso said.

The Nationals, conversely, had a way of not making the most of their opportunities.

Lane Thomas led off the bottom of the first with a single but was doubled off after Nimmo corralled Alcides Escobar’s shot to right-center. Thomas already had rounded second base, and as he retreated, he did not re-touch the bag.

Garcia led off the bottom of the third with a double. After Nolin popped up a bunt, Garcia tried stealing third but took off too early. Rich Hill ran straight at him — grade-A fundamentals — to start a successful rundown to erase the baserunner.

Hill had his best start in a month-plus with the Mets: six shutout innings, three hits. Notably, he held Soto, who leads the majors with a .446 OBP, to 0-for-3. He did that in part by throwing breaking balls from his sidearming arm slot — a funky relic of his reliever days in the first half of last decade.

"He’s an incredible hitter," Hill said. "He’s got an incredible future ahead of him, as everybody knows. He’s a tough out. Any way you can get him out, you take it."

Hill left the Mets in a winning position, and despite Diaz, they did win.

Just 28 games to go.

"It’s going to be a fun fight to the finish," Alonso said. "This is a really tough division, but if there’s any group that can do it, it’s going to be us."