Nationals 5, Mets 2: Denard Span and Jayson Werth each scored during a three-run first inning and finished with two hits apiece as host Washington extended its winning streak against New York to nine games.

Tyler Moore drove in a pair while Scott Hairston also had two hits and scored for Washington, which improved to 18-1 when scoring at least four runs. Tanner Roark (3-1) gave up his first two runs in four home starts on four hits over five innings and three relievers bridged the gap to closer Rafael Soriano, who worked around a pair of two-out walks in the ninth and benefited from Werth's leaping grab in right to rob Daniel Murphy of a game-tying homer for his ninth save.

Jonathon Niese (2-3), who was 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA over his previous four starts, surrendered five runs (three earned) on eight hits over a season-low four frames in his worst outing of the season. Eric Young Jr. and Ruben Tejada knocked in the Mets’ first runs in three games.

Niese ran into trouble right away against the Nationals as Span led off with a single and Anthony Rendon reached on a fielding error by Mets third baseman David Wright in front of Werth, who ripped a grounder to left to plate Span. Wilson Ramos followed with a sacrifice fly and Niese allowed the next two hitters to reach before Moore’s RBI groundout capped the scoring in the opening frame.

The Nationals added a pair of two-out runs in the third as Hairston doubled to the gap in left-center to score Ramos from first and Moore dumped a single in front of Young in left to push across Washington’s final run. Roark encountered his only trouble in the fifth when Lucas Duda scored on Tejada’s groundout and Young doubled over the head of Hairston in left to plate Anthony Recker.

GAME NOTEBOOK: All three earned runs Roark has yielded in 40 career innings at home have come against the Mets. … New York, which tallied seven hits Friday, is batting .152 during its three-game skid. … The Nationals’ winning streak versus the Mets matches their longest run against an opponent since they moved to Washington in 2005.