WASHINGTON (Interstat) — CJ Abrams homered and drove in three runs, Jacob Young added a two-run homer in the eighth inning and the Washington Nationals defeated the New York Mets 8-4 on Wednesday night to take the lead in the three-game series.

Abrams launched a three-run shot in the first inning to give Washington an early lead, and Young’s blast in the eighth padded the margin after the Mets had pulled within two. The Nationals improved to 25-25, while the Mets dropped to 21-28.

Zack Littell pitched five innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits with three strikeouts to earn his third win against four losses. Andrew Alvarez recorded his first save of the season with a perfect ninth inning. Zach Thornton, making his major league debut for the Mets, took the loss after allowing four runs over five innings, striking out three.

The Nationals struck quickly in the bottom of the first. After James Wood grounded out, Curtis Mead singled and Andrés Chaparro walked. Abrams then drove a 1-1 pitch from Thornton to right-center field for his 10th home run, scoring Mead and Chaparro to make it 3-0. Washington added a run in the second inning when Nasim Nuñez walked, moved to second on a single by Keibert Ruiz and scored on Ruiz’s ground ball single to left field, tying the game at 4.

The Mets answered in the second inning. Mark Vientos doubled and advanced to third on a fly out by MJ Melendez. Brett Baty singled to right field to drive in Vientos, cutting the lead to 3-1. After a popout, A.J. Ewing singled, but Hayden Senger struck out to end the inning.

New York tied the game in the third inning when Juan Soto hit his eighth home run, a solo shot to right field. The score remained 4-4 until the sixth inning, when the Nationals regained the lead. Abrams led off with a single and scored on a sacrifice fly by Daylen Lile. Dylan Crews singled, advanced to third on a double by Jacob Young and scored on a sacrifice bunt by Nuñez, giving Washington a 6-4 lead.

The Mets threatened in the seventh but grounded into a double play. In the eighth inning, they mounted a rally. Bo Bichette singled and Soto crushed his second home run of the game, a two-run shot to right field, tying the score at 6.

The tie lasted only moments. In the bottom of the eighth, Lile doubled off Mets reliever Tyler Zuber and Young followed with his sixth home run, a two-run shot to left-center field, restoring the Nationals’ lead at 8-6. The Mets went quietly in the ninth, with Alvarez striking out two batters to seal the victory.

The Nationals outhit the Mets 10-7. Abrams went 2 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs. Lile was 1 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored. Ruiz contributed two hits and an RBI. For the Mets, Soto finished 2 for 4 with two home runs and three RBIs. Bichette had two hits and scored twice.

The game took 2 hours, 16 minutes before an announced crowd of 18,642 at Nationals Park.

The Mets had entered the series having won two of their previous three games, including a 16-7 extra-inning victory Monday. The Nationals had dropped seven of their previous nine before taking Tuesday’s game.

The teams meet again Thursday for the series finale. The Mets then travel to Miami for a three-game series against the Marlins. The Nationals head to Atlanta for a three-game series against the Braves.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of New York Mets 6, Washington Nationals 5. Interstat’s ELO system had given the Mets a 55.00 percent probability to win. New York had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 12 went under the over-under line of 9.5.