Nationals 10, Mets 3: Bryce Harper went 3-for-4 with a mammoth two-run homer and red-hot Anthony Rendon collected four hits as visiting Washington reduced its magic number for clinching the National League East to six.

Ian Desmond collected three hits and three RBIs while Denard Span added a two-run blast in the ninth inning and scored three times as the Nationals improved to 13-1 in their last 14 at Citi Field. Doug Fister (14-6) matched his career high in wins and improved to 4-0 lifetime against the Mets by allowing three runs - two earned - over six innings.

Wilmer Flores smacked a two-run homer, Juan Lagares notched three hits and Curtis Granderson went 2-for-2 with an RBI for New York, which lost for only the third time in 11 games. Zack Wheeler (10-10) was knocked around for six runs in four-plus innings as the Mets remained 6 1/2 games behind Pittsburgh for the second wild card in the National League.

Harper put the Nationals ahead to stay in the top of the second, hammering a two-run shot off Wheeler into the second deck in right field. Desmond stole third and scored when Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud's throw went into left field in the fourth inning and capped a three-run fifth with a two-RBI single for a 6-0 advantage.

New York got on the board in the bottom of the inning as Flores followed Granderson's leadoff double with a two-run blast to left-center, but Washington tacked on a run in the sixth on back-to-back singles by Span and Rendon and Jayson Werth's RBI groundout. Desmond added a run-scoring double in the eighth before Span went deep in the ninth.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Desmond swiped his 20th base in the fourth inning to become the fourth shortstop in league history (Alex Rodriguez, Jimmy Rollins and Hanley Ramirez) with three straight seasons of at least 20 homers and 20 stolen bases. ... Flores, who entered 0-for-18 in his previous five games, hit his second career homer at Citi Field. ... Rendon improved to 10-for-15 with two homers, three RBIs and five runs scored in the first three games of the series.