NEW YORK (Interstat) — Daylen Lile’s electrifying inside-the-park home run in the top of the 11th inning broke a tie and propelled the Washington Nationals to a 5-3 victory over the New York Mets on Saturday afternoon at Citi Field.

Lile’s decisive blow came with one out off Mets reliever Tyler Rogers (4-6). He drove a 2-2 sinker off the center-field wall. The ball caromed sharply away from Mets center fielder Cedric Mullins, allowing the speedy Lile to race around the bases and score easily with a headfirst slide, plating Andrés Chaparro, who had reached on a fielder’s choice.

PJ Poulin then retired the Mets in order in the bottom of the 11th, striking out Juan Soto looking to end the game and secure his first career save.

The win snapped a two-game skid for the Nationals and improved their record to 63-92. The Mets, who saw their late comeback fall short, fell to 80-75.

Washington built an early 3-0 lead with small ball and Mets miscues. They scored a run in the first inning when Lile grounded into a force out, allowing James Wood to cross the plate. In the second, Riley Adams singled home Dylan Crews, and an error on the play by right fielder Soto allowed Adams to advance to third. Adams then scored on a throwing error by first baseman Pete Alonso.

That early offense was enough for Nationals starter Cade Cavalli, who delivered a strong outing. He pitched five scoreless innings, scattering five hits and striking out three while working around traffic on the bases. The Mets grounded into two double plays behind him, stifling potential rallies.

Nolan McLean kept the Mets in the game with a solid start of his own. Over five innings, he allowed one earned run on four hits while striking out six.

The game remained 3-0 until the Mets’ offense finally broke through in the eighth inning against the Washington bullpen. With two outs, Starling Marte doubled to left, setting the stage for pinch-hitter Mark Vientos. Vientos delivered a two-run double to left field, cutting the deficit to 3-2.

New York completed the comeback in the ninth to force extra innings. Pinch-runner Jose Siri, running for Luis Torrens who led off with a single, scored on a clutch two-out single by Soto to tie the game 3-3. The Mets had the bases loaded later in the inning but could not push across the winning run.

Both teams were held scoreless in the tenth inning, setting the stage for Lile’s 11th-inning heroics.

Sauryn Lao (1-0) earned the win for Washington with a scoreless inning of relief. Rogers took the loss for New York.

Despite the loss, the Mets outhit the Nationals 11 to 6. Soto and Francisco Alvarez each had two hits for New York. Lile led the Nationals, going 2-for-5 with three RBIs.

The game time was 3 hours, 18 minutes, and it was played in front of an evening crowd of 43,412.

The two teams are scheduled to conclude their three-game series on Sunday.