WASHINGTON (Interstat) —David Peterson pitched five strong innings and Bo Bichette delivered a two-run single in the third, lifting the New York Mets to a 2-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Thursday evening at Nationals Park. Peterson (3-4) allowed one earned run on four hits with three strikeouts. Devin Williams worked a scoreless ninth for his seventh save. Cade Cavalli (2-3) took the loss despite striking out nine over seven innings, giving up four hits and two earned runs. Bichette’s single to center scored MJ Melendez and Luis Torrens, giving the Mets a 2-0 lead in the third. Washington answered in the fifth, cutting the deficit to 2-1 when Andrés Chaparro grounded out, scoring Keibert Ruiz. New York outhit Washington 6-5. Attendance was 17,291 and the game lasted 2:34. The Mets improved to 22-28, while the Nationals fell to 25-26.

WASHINGTON (Interstat) — David Peterson pitched six innings of one-run ball and the New York Mets used a two-run third inning to defeat the Washington Nationals 2-1 on Thursday evening at Nationals Park. The attendance was 17,291, and the game lasted 2 hours, 34 minutes. The Mets improved to 22-28, while the Nationals fell to 25-26. New York avoided a series sweep after dropping the first two games of the four-game set before winning the final two, including a 16-7 blowout Wednesday. Peterson allowed four hits, walked three and struck out four to earn his third victory against four losses. Cade Cavalli took the loss for Washington, falling to 2-3 after giving up two runs on five hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out seven. Devin Williams pitched a scoreless ninth for his seventh save, stranding a runner at third base. The Mets struck first in the third inning. With one out, MJ Melendez was hit by a pitch from Cavalli. Luis Torrens followed with a single to right field, moving Melendez to second. Carson Benge then singled to left, loading the bases. Bo Bichette lined a single to center field, scoring Melendez and Torrens to give the Mets a 2-0 lead. The rally came after Cavalli had retired the first two batters of the inning. Cavalli limited the damage by striking out Juan Soto and getting Mark Vientos to ground into a forceout. Washington answered in the fifth inning. Keibert Ruiz led off with a sharp single to left. James Wood doubled to center, sending Ruiz to third. After Curtis Mead struck out, Andrés Chaparro grounded out to third base, scoring Ruiz and moving Wood to third. Wood was left stranded as CJ Abrams grounded out to first. The Nationals had opportunities earlier but could not capitalize. In the first inning, Washington loaded the bases with two outs after walks to Chaparro, Abrams and Dylan Crews. But Daylen Lile struck out swinging to end the threat. In the second, Ruiz singled and Jacob Young reached on a fielding error by shortstop Bichette, but Ruiz was caught stealing second to end the inning. New York’s bullpen held the one-run lead. Peterson departed after the sixth, and the Mets turned to a series of relievers. The Nationals threatened in the ninth against Williams. Lile led off with a double to center field. Luis García Jr. grounded out to shortstop, sending Lile to third. José Tena struck out swinging, and Ruiz grounded out to second base to end the game. Bichette led the Mets offense with two RBIs, going 1 for 4. Benge and Torrens each had a hit. Brett Baty and Marcus Semien added singles in the ninth but were stranded. For the Nationals, Lile and Ruiz each had two hits. Lile doubled in his final at-bat and finished 2 for 4. Ruiz went 2 for 4 with a run scored. Chaparro drove in the only Nationals run. Defensively, the Mets committed one error by Bichette in the second inning. The Nationals had two errors — one by right fielder Crews in the fourth and one by second baseman Nasim Nuñez in the ninth. The game featured six total hits for the Mets and five for the Nationals. The Mets scored all their runs in the third inning; the Nationals scored their lone run in the fifth. The series split gave the Mets a lift after they lost the first two matchups in Washington. The teams had split a earlier six-game season series, with each winning three. The Mets took two of three at home in late April, while the Nationals took two of three in Washington earlier in the week. Peterson’s outing was his third quality start of the season. He worked out of the first-inning jam by striking out Lile with the bases loaded. He retired eight of the next nine batters before the Nationals’ fifth-inning rally. Cavalli, meanwhile, allowed only two runs despite surrendering six hits. He struck out seven but was hurt by the hit batter and the two-out single by Bichette. The Mets will travel to Miami for a three-game series starting Friday. The Nationals head to Atlanta for a three-game series. Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Washington 6, New York 5, but the Mets defied that projection in a low-scoring affair. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Mets a 53.3 percent probability to win before the game. New York had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 3 went over the over-under line of 8.

WASHINGTON (Interstat) — The New York Mets and Washington Nationals conclude their four-game series Thursday afternoon at Nationals Park with a pitching matchup featuring Mets right-hander Cade Cavalli (2-2) against a Nationals pitcher to be announced. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. EDT under a forecast of 85 degrees with rain. The Mets (21-27) enter the series finale after dropping two of the first three games, including a 9-6 defeat Tuesday despite a monster performance from shortstop Bo Bichette. Bichette went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs in that loss, extending a torrid stretch against Washington. Over his past two games at Nationals Park, Bichette is 5-for-10 with three homers and seven RBIs. For the season, he has been the Mets’ most consistent offensive threat, though the club has struggled to sustain momentum, sitting four games below .500. Cavalli will look to build on an up-and-down campaign. The right-hander has shown flashes of dominance but has been inconsistent, with his 2-2 record reflecting a team that has struggled to provide run support on his starts. He will face a Nationals lineup that roughed up Mets pitching for nine runs Tuesday. Washington (24-25) has been powered by rookie outfielder James Wood, who went 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs in Tuesday’s win. Wood is 6-for-11 with two RBIs in the series, displaying the prodigious power that has made him a cornerstone of the Nationals’ rebuild. His recent surge — 7-for-19 over his last four games — has helped Washington claw back to within one game of .500. The Nationals took the series opener 6-2 on Wednesday behind solid pitching, but the Mets’ 16-7, 12-inning win Monday showed the explosive potential of New York’s lineup. The teams have split the six-game season series so far, with Washington winning four of the last five meetings. The Interstat game simulator projects a 6-5 Nationals victory. New York enters as a -1.5 favorite on the run line, with the over/under set at 8. Following the game, the Mets travel to Miami for a three-game series against the Marlins starting Friday, while the Nationals head to Atlanta for a three-game set with the Braves. AP baseball: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB