Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets (85-48) have excelled in divisional play this season, and they got the job done again against the Washington Nationals (45-87), winning by a score of 7-3 on Friday night at Citi Field. It was a back-and-forth affair through the early innings before the Mets offense broke the game open in the sixth, and the bullpen locked it down behind starter David Peterson.

The Mets found themselves with a prime chance to score in the first inning against Nationals starter Josiah Gray. Brandon Nimmo led off the game with a double, and he advanced to third base with just one out. However, Gray was able to get out of the inning unscathed, keeping the game scoreless after one inning.

It did not take much longer for the Mets to strike. Eduardo Escobar launched a two-run homer in the second inning to give the Mets a 2-0 lead. It was Escobar’s 13th home run of the season and his first since returning from the injured list in late August.

The Nationals got a run back immediately in the top of the third on a bizarre play. Victor Robles hit a leadoff triple, and with one out, Lane Thomas struck out on a pitch in the dirt. TomĂĄs Nido attempted a back-pick of Robles at third base but threw the ball past Escobar who was not covering the bag, allowing Robles to score and Thomas to reach base. Peterson proceeded to load the bases with one out, but he worked his way out of the jam and kept the 2-1 lead intact.

The fourth inning saw the Mets score an unorthodox run of their own. The Mets loaded the bases with one out for Nido, who skied a ball to center field. Jeff McNeil was thrown out by Robles attempting to tag and advance to third base, but the runner who was already on third, Daniel Vogelbach, crossed the plate before McNeil was tagged out. The play went down as a sacrifice fly for Nido, and the Mets carried a 3-1 lead into the fifth inning.

The lead was short-lived, as the Nationals began chipping away in the fifth inning. Pinch-hitter Alex Call collected an RBI single, cutting the Mets’ lead to 3-2. Peterson was able to pick off Call at first base to end the inning, his third pickoff of the season. The Mets lead the National League with 13 pickoffs from their pitching staff.

The Nationals completed their comeback in the top of the sixth inning courtesy of Ildemaro Vargas, who doubled home Luis GarcĂ­a to tie the game at 3-3. Vargas entered the game hitting .632 (12-for-19) in his career against the Mets, and the unlikely Met killer kept that trend going with a multi-hit game.

Peterson’s night was done after that at-bat, and Mychal Givens was able to get out of the inning with the game still knotted up. Peterson gave up eight hits and three runs in 5 1/3 innings, striking out six.

Pete Alonso answered immediately in the bottom of the sixth inning, leading off the frame with a solo homer to put the Mets back in the lead by a score of 4-3. The home runs are not flying out of the stadium with nearly as much frequency for Alonso, but he’s up to 32 on the year and he continues to come through in the biggest moments. Alonso now has 26 game-winning RBI this season, just one shy of tying the single-season record shared by Willie Mays and Joe Torre.

The Mets then loaded the bases with no outs against Gray and his replacement Steve Cishek, putting Escobar at the plate with the chance to add to his already productive game. Escobar drove in a pinch-running Tyler Naquin from third base on a sacrifice fly, but Mark Canha was thrown out attempting to advance to second base. On a night filled with plenty of strange plays, it should come as no surprise that two different Mets batters hit into a sacrifice double play in this one.

Nido closed the books on Gray’s outing with an RBI single, and Nimmo kept the ball rolling with an RBI triple to extend the lead to 7-3. Gray was tagged for six runs on six hits, walking four and only striking out two in his first major league start in his home state. That triple was Nimmo’s 500th career hit and his sixth triple of the season.

Givens eased his way through the seventh, and he has a 2.25 ERA across his last seven appearances. His 1 2/3 scoreless innings were enough for the win, his seventh of the season and his first as a Met.

The Mets turned to Joely RodrĂ­guez in the eighth inning, and he worked through a scoreless frame to send the game to the ninth. Seth Lugo ran into a bit of trouble in the ninth but got the final three outs to close out the victory.

Things haven’t clicked all that much on offense for the Mets recently, as this was only their second game in their last 10 where they have scored at least seven runs. Still, the team managed to win six of those 10 games, and they have two more against a historically bad Nationals pitching staff to right the ship.

Player of the Game: Eduardo Escobar

Escobar was just 3-for-16 at the plate since returning from the injured list, so his second-inning home run was much-needed both in the context of this game and of his season at large. He tacked on another RBI on a sacrifice fly, and he even reached base on a walk. With Brett Baty on the shelf for the foreseeable future, the Mets will need plenty more games like this out of their everyday third baseman.

Final line for Escobar: 1-for-2, HR (13), 3 RBI, BB

On Deck

The Mets continue their series against the Nationals on Saturday night at Citi Field. The first pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast on SNY. The Mets will have Max Scherzer on the mound, while the Nationals will counter with Patrick Corbin.