After the Mets jumped out to a 7-1 lead and a Jeurys Familia relief outing put that lead in danger, they hung on -- with Seth Lugo tossing two scoreless innings and Justin Wilson shutting the door in the ninth -- as New York beat the Nationals, 8-4, on Wednesday afternoon in Washington, D.C. >> Box score

Five Takeaways from Wednesday's game

1) After falling behind, 1-0, the Mets tied the game on a Juan Lagares solo homer to center field in the top of the third. In the fourth inning, Robinson Cano lifted a two-run shot to left field to put the Mets up, 3-1, and Pete Alonso crushed a solo shot to left field in the fifth inning (his league-leading 45th of the season) to extend the lead further. The Mets added three more runs in the sixth on a two-run single by Amed Rosario and a run-scoring knock off the bat of Jeff McNeil.

2) Cano was in the lineup for the first time since returning from the IL and he had a huge game, going 3-for-3 with the aforementioned homer, two runs scored, two RBI, and a walk. Cano also looked good on the bases, showing no signs of being slowed down by his hamstring and even going first-to-third on a single.

3) Zack Wheeler bent but didn't break during 5.0 innings, constantly working in and out of trouble while throwing 101 pitches and allowing one run on seven hits while walking two and striking out three. After allowing a run in the second inning, Wheeler worked out of a bases loaded jam by getting Anthony Rendon to fly out. Wheeler's easiest inning was the fifth, when he retired Juan Soto, Ryan Zimmerman, and Kurt Suzuki with ease.

4) It was a curious move for Mickey Callaway to remove Wheeler at 101 pitches before the sixth inning after Wheeler had a shutdown fifth. But Wheeler was removed and replaced by Jeurys Familia, who walked two batters to set up a poor outing where he surrendered three runs while trying to protect a 7-1 lead. Luis Avilan came in to replace Familia and got Soto out to limit the damage.

5) Alonso's homer (his 45th) moved him ahead of Cody Bellinger and Mike Trout as the major league home run leader.

Highlights

Number 45 for BIG PETE and he's now leading the MLB in home runs ❄🐻

(via @Mets)pic.twitter.com/OhJCiAm9Yi
- SNY (@SNYtv) September 4, 2019

What's next

The Mets are off on Thursday.

They open up a three-game series against the Phillies at Citi Field on Friday night at 7:10 on SNY, with Steven Matz on the mound.

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