Pete Alonso's homer boosts Mets to win over Nationals

Pete Alonso's leadoff homer in the sixth inning snapped a tie and sparked a four-run outburst for the host New York Mets, who went on to beat the Washington Nationals 7-3.

The National League East-leading Mets, who maintained their three-game lead over the Atlanta Braves, have won three straight and six of eight. The last-place Nationals had their two-game winning streak snapped.

Alonso homered to left against Josiah Gray (7-9), who then walked Daniel Vogelbach and gave up a single to Jeff McNeil before being pulled for Steve Cishek. After Mark Canha singled to load the bases, Eduardo Escobar lofted a sacrifice fly and Tomas Nido hit an RBI single before Brandon Nimmo laced a run-scoring triple.

Escobar hit a two-run homer in the second and Nido delivered a sacrifice fly in the fourth for the Mets. McNeil finished with three hits while Nimmo and Canha had two hits.

Mychal Givens (7-3), the first of three relievers to follow David Peterson, tossed 1 2/3 hitless innings. Peterson allowed three runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out six over 5 1/3 innings.

Luke Voit had three hits for the Nationals. Ildemaro Vargas had two hits, including a game-tying RBI double in the top of the sixth, while Luis Garcia also collected two hits.

Gray surrendered six runs on six hits and four walks with two strikeouts in five innings.

The Mets went ahead in the second, when McNeil hit a leadoff single and scored on Escobar's one-out homer.

The Nationals cut the gap in half in the third. Victor Robles opened the inning with a triple and scored when Nido's one-out pickoff throw sailed beyond Escobar.

Nido redeemed himself with a sacrifice fly in the fourth, when Vogelbach drew a leadoff walk and went to third on McNeil's double before scoring on Nido's flyout to center.

The Nationals tied the game with a run apiece in the fifth and sixth. Joey Meneses, who has 36 hits in his first 103 big league at-bats, singled with one out in the fifth and scored on Alex Call's two-out pinch-hit single. In the sixth, Garcia singled with one out and scored on Vargas' hit.