Nationals 7, Mets 6: Bryce Harper belted two home runs – including a go-ahead solo shot in the eighth – and scored three times as visiting Washington edged New York.

Harper, who posted his second multi-homer game of the season, went 3-for-3 with three RBIs. Adam LaRoche and Ian Desmond also homered for the Nationals to match the Mets' four-homer effort in Friday’s 7-1 setback.

John Buck tied the game at 6 with an RBI double down the left-field line in the seventh, but Harper crushed Josh Edgin’s first-pitch fastball to lead off the eighth and give Washington its third lead of the game. Edgin (0-1) struck out three of the five batters he faced.

Tyler Clippard (1-0) recorded the final out of the seventh and worked around a walk in the eighth before giving way to Rafael Soriano, who worked around a two-out walk to David Wright in the ninth for his sixth save in seven chances.

Desmond and Harper staked the Nationals to an early 3-0 lead with a solo and two-run homer, respectively, before New York tagged Gio Gonzalez for five runs in the fourth. Collin Cowgill and Justin Turner each had two-out, two-run singles and Daniel Murphy capped the frame with an RBI single.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Harper has four multi-homer games in his 155-game major-league career. He trails only Hall of Famer Mel Ott for the most such games by a player before his 21st birthday. … The Mets scored all of their runs with two outs. … Nationals 2B Danny Espinosa returned to the lineup after missing the last four games with a bruised right forearm. He went 1-for-4 and scored a run.