NEW YORK (Interstat) — Nolan McLean pitched seven innings of two-hit ball and Jared Young drove in three runs as the New York Mets defeated the Houston Astros 6-2 on Saturday afternoon at Citi Field.

McLean, the winning pitcher, allowed one unearned run and struck out four while walking none. He improved to 10-8 on the season. The only Houston run charged to McLean came on a sacrifice fly in the first inning after left fielder Brett Baty committed a fielding error that allowed Jeremy Peña to advance from second to third.

Houston grabbed an early lead in the top of the first. Peña doubled to left and moved to third on the error. Yordan Alvarez then lifted a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Peña to make it 1-0.

The Mets answered in the bottom of the inning. Francisco Lindor walked and moved to second when Carson Benge walked with two outs. Jared Young followed with a single to right, scoring Lindor to tie the game at 1-1.

Neither team scored again until the fifth inning, when the Mets broke through against Houston starter Cristian Javier. Lindor doubled to right to open the inning. Juan Soto singled to right to bring home Lindor, giving the Mets a 2-1 lead. After Bo Bichette flied out, Carson Benge singled, putting runners at first and second. Young then tripled to right, driving in Soto and Benge to extend the lead to 4-1.

Young finished 3-for-4 with the triple, a single and three RBIs. His three-run triple in the fifth inning proved to be the decisive blow.

Javier, the losing pitcher, allowed three earned runs on six hits over 4 1/3 innings. He struck out four and walked none. The right-hander fell to 1-5 on the season.

The Mets added two more runs in the eighth inning. Jared Young singled to open the frame and Marcus Semien singled to put runners at first and second. A.J. Ewing sacrificed both runners into scoring position. After Luis Robert Jr. popped out, Francisco Alvarez doubled to left, scoring Young and Semien to make it 6-1.

Alvarez finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs.

Houston scored its second run in the top of the eighth. With one out, Yordan Alvarez hit his 37th home run of the season to right center, cutting the Mets lead to 4-2. The home run was the only blemish against Mets reliever Daniel Duarte, who pitched one inning and allowed one run on one hit while striking out two.

McLean’s performance continued a strong stretch. In his previous start on Aug. 23 against the Chicago White Sox, he pitched six innings and allowed one hit and no earned runs while striking out six. Against the Astros, he retired the side in order in the second, third, fourth and seventh innings.

Houston threatened in the seventh inning when Daulton Varsho walked with one out. But Christian Walker grounded into a force out, and the Mets turned the inning without damage. Varsho was erased at second on a challenge by the Mets that upheld the call of slide interference.

The Astros had 4 hits in the game. Yordan Alvarez went 2-for-3 with the home run and two RBIs. Jose Altuve doubled in the ninth inning but was stranded. Houston pitchers combined for eight strikes, 44 balls and eight balls in play at the time of their exits. The Mets had 11 hits.

New York’s bullpen closed out the game after McLean departed. Kodai Senga pitched a scoreless eighth inning, allowing one hit. Duarte pitched the ninth, allowing a double to Altuve but no further damage. Cristian Javier took the loss for Houston, and Bennett Sousa allowed one inherited runner to score in the sixth inning. Enyel De Los Santos pitched two scoreless innings of relief, allowing one hit and striking out two.

The game took 2:36 to complete. The announced attendance was 29,183.

The Mets improved to 62-79 with the win. The Astros fell to 69-68.

Houston had won the series opener Friday afternoon by a 3-1 score. The Mets evened the three-game series with Saturday night’s victory.

The Mets scored single runs in the first and fifth innings and two more in the eighth. Houston scored once in the first and once in the eighth. Lindor doubled and scored in the fifth inning, part of a 1-for-4 night. Marcus Semien had two hits and scored once. Brett Baty doubled in the sixth inning and also singled. Carson Benge walked, singled and scored a run. Juan Soto singled, walked and scored a run.

For Houston, Peña doubled and scored in the first inning. Nick Allen, Christian Walker and Taylor Trammell each reached base but did not score. LaMonte Wade Jr. struck out in a pinch-hit appearance in the eighth inning.

The game was played in the evening at Citi Field in New York.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Houston 5, New York 4. Interstat’s ELO system had given the Mets a 50.70 percent probability to win. New York entered the game as a favorite on the run line at minus 1.5.