NEW YORK (Interstat) — Francisco Lindor singled to right field with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, scoring Cristian Pache and giving the New York Mets a 5-4 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday afternoon at Citi Field.

The Mets trailed 4-3 entering the ninth after the Nationals had taken their only lead of the game in the sixth inning. Brett Baty opened the ninth with a walk. Jorge Polanco followed with a sharp single to right, moving Baty to second. Pache entered as a pinch runner for Polanco. Francisco Alvarez then doubled to left, scoring Baty and sending Pache to third, tying the game at 4. After A.J. Ewing struck out swinging, Lindor lined a pitch to right, scoring Pache with the winning run.

The comeback made a winner of Jefry Yan, who pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts, improving to 1-0. Yovanny Cruz took the loss for Washington, falling to 0-1. The Mets improved to 55-69, while Washington slipped to 60-65.

Washington had grabbed the lead in the top of the sixth inning with a three-run rally. Andrew Pinckney was hit by a pitch, and Dylan Crews lined out to right. Andrés Chaparro walked, putting runners at first and second. Brady House then homered to left, his ninth of the season, scoring Pinckney and Chaparro to make it 4-2. Chaparro had given Washington its first run in the fourth inning with a solo home run to left, his seventh.

The Mets had opened the scoring in the first inning. A.J. Ewing and Francisco Lindor walked to start the game, and Carson Benge walked to load the bases. Jared Young then doubled to left, driving in Ewing and Lindor and sending Benge to third. Washington escaped further damage when Marcus Semien grounded into a fielder’s choice with Benge thrown out at home. Brett Baty walked to reload the bases, but Jorge Polanco struck out swinging to end the inning.

New York pulled within a run in the bottom of the sixth when Benge homered to right, his 14th of the season. The lead remained 4-3 as Washington’s bullpen worked through the middle innings.

The Nationals missed a chance to extend their advantage in the seventh. Nasim Nuñez singled with one out, and Andrew Pinckney tripled to right. But Dylan Crews flied into a double play, with right fielder Carson Benge throwing to catcher Francisco Alvarez to retire Pinckney at the plate, keeping the score at 4-3.

Washington’s Will Dion was sharp in a no-decision, allowing no hits over 4 1/3 innings while striking out seven. He issued four walks. Clayton Beeter worked a scoreless inning, allowing two hits and striking out one. Orlando Ribalta added a hitless inning with a strikeout. Sean Manaea started for the Mets and allowed four runs on six hits over 6 1/3 innings, striking out seven. Dedniel Núñez followed with a scoreless inning, allowing one hit and striking out one, before Yan took over.

Jared Young finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs to pace the Mets offense. Benge drove in a run with his home run. For Washington, House went 1 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs, and Chaparro was 1 for 2 with a home run and an RBI. Jacob Young had two hits for the Nationals, including a single in the second and a sharp line-drive single in the sixth.

The Mets won their second straight game in the three-game series after taking the opener 4-1 on Friday night. The Nationals had come into the game after splitting their previous series, winning Thursday before losing Wednesday and Tuesday to the Chicago Cubs. The Mets had lost their previous three series before this matchup, including a sweep at Atlanta from Monday through Wednesday.

The game drew an announced crowd of 34,737 at Citi Field and lasted 2 hours, 54 minutes. Washington pitchers combined for 20 strikes, 38 balls and 20 balls in play, while New York pitchers combined for 18 strikes, 67 balls and 18 balls in play.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Washington 6, New York 5, but the Mets won despite entering as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. Interstat’s ELO system gave New York a 55.40 percent probability to win. The total score of 9 went under the over/under line of 8.