Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Francisco Lindor — the best shortstop in the NL East — had his best game as a Met Saturday in a 5-1 win over the Nationals. It was Game 1 of a day-night doubleheader against the Nats at Nationals Park.

Lindor supplied two home runs and five RBIs (two two-run taters and an RBI single) for a Mets offense that mustered just four hits over its previous 18 innings. Lindor’s second one was a mammoth shot that went 414 feet.

It’s the shortstop’s first two-homer game as a Met and just the second time in 62 games he had three hits in a single game. Lindor registered exit velocities of 96.3 miles per hour or faster in all four plate appearances of Game 1, and his OPS is slowly creeping up toward .700 — a low number but one Lindor (and a couple other Mets) haven’t seen in months. His slugging is a more healthy .367, too. (I know, a low number, still, but it’s nearly double what it was at the beginning of May. He’s improving day-by-day.)

Though Lindor’s first jack gave the Mets all the runs they needed in the end, David Peterson needed to carry over his performance from Tuesday (six innings, no runs) to Game 1.

Peterson pitched into the fifth today, notching two outs before Trea Turner doubled after an 11-pitch at-bat. The lefty, who hit 94 pitches after that at-bat, was pulled for Aaron Loup, who gave up a single to Juan Soto. That scored Turner, but it was the only run the Mets allowed over the seven innings.

Over his last two starts, here’s Peterson’s combined line:

10.2 IP, 1 R (1 ER), 3 H, 5 BB, 9 K

His ERA dropped from 6.32 to 5.31. It’s a wonderful turnaround for a guy who really seemed down on himself following two starts where he allowed nine runs in three innings.

Seth Lugo and Trevor May finished the final two innings keeping the Nationals off the board.

The pitching staff allowed an uncharacteristic seven walks over the seven innings today. Coming into the game, the team was top five in the majors in walk percentage by their staff at 7.9%. The walks, plus four hits, meant there were 11 Nats on base today, but the the team was able to get out of trouble with timely strikeouts and a beautifully turned double play by Luis Guillorme and Lindor in the seventh.

The Mets are now 7-2 in doubleheader games this season, as the SNY broadcast pointed out after the win.

Game 2 starts at 6:05 p.m. — a little over two hours after the end of Game 1. (The Nats need to clear out their ballpark and bring in a whole new set of fans.) Robert Gsellman will be taking the mound for the Mets, as Luis Rojas said he’s their freshest arm. Yennsy Diaz will remain the team’s 27th man for the doubleheader.

Jon Lester will start for the Nats in Game 2. Lester has only pitched six innings once this season, though he has a 2.41 ERA over his last four starts.