It was only the middle of the game, but there was a palpable sense that the outcome was hanging in the balance of this one at-bat. Two Nationals runners were in scoring position, lurking off second and third base with two outs. If Werth got a hit, the Nationals would take the lead, and might well ride the momentum to victory.�

The challenge was given to reliever Ryota Igarashi, the Japanese right-hander who has struggled to gain the confidence of his team, which has sent him back and forth to the minors since he signed a two-year contract before the 2010 season.

But on Tuesday, working with catcher Josh Thole, Igarashi dominated the at-bat, striking out Werth on four pitches. In the next inning, Thole did what Werth could not.

�With runners on first and second in the top of the sixth, Thole hit an opposite-field two-run double, and the Mets held on for a 6-4 victory over the Nationals that extended their winning streak to five games.

Starting pitcher Chris Young did enough to reassure the Mets that the right shoulder that put him on the disabled list had sufficiently recovered.

?The shoulder felt great,? Young said. ?There were no issues. I didn?t think about my arm once.?

He allowed three home runs, two to the backup catcher Wilson Ramos and one to Werth. Then, with one out in the fifth, Young walked Jordan Zimmermann, the Nationals? starting pitcher, on four pitches. He followed by walking second baseman Danny Espinosa, and both runners moved up a base on Rick Ankiel?s long fly ball to center field on Young?s 88th pitch.

At that point, with Werth lurking, Manager Terry Collins made the first of his four calls to the bullpen.

�?Of course I knew the situation was a very important part of the game,? Igarashi said through his interpreter, Mike Phillips. ?But if you get overexcited, you can?t think calmly. So I tried to manage my emotions. So I was thinking about the process of the pitches I wanted to throw.?

Knowing he had to throw a strike to get ahead of Werth, and assuming Werth was thinking the same thing and perhaps expecting a fastball, Igarashi threw a curveball that fell in for a strike. Now he had working room, and showing Werth some respect, he threw a fastball off the plate for a ball.

�Even at 1-1, Igarashi wanted to throw a split-finger fastball to get Werth swinging at a pitch dropping out of the strike zone, but Thole called for a curve again, and Igarashi went along with his catcher, throwing another curve that Werth fouled off.

�?It was the best pitch to call for,? Igarashi said.

�Now Igarashi was up, 1-2, and looking to put Werth away. He knew that with two strikes, Werth would have to be wary of a breaking ball out of the zone, but also had to be alert to a surprise fastball. And that was what Igarashi went with.

Werth whiffed at a daring 92-mile-per-hour fastball in the strike zone, as most of the 14,603 fans sighed in disappointment, sensing their team?s moment had passed.

In the top of the sixth, Thole went to work with the bat. After Jason Bay and Ike Davis reached on one-out singles, Thole, who had only one hit in his previous 18 at-bats, sliced a ball to left field that barely eluded outfielder Michael Morse. Both runners scored, giving the Mets a 5-3 lead, and they had an advantage they would not surrender.

?I needed it bad,? Thole said.

The Mets? bullpen followed Igarashi?s lead. Taylor Buchholz pitched two scoreless innings. He was followed by Jason Isringhausen, who gave up a run but escaped more trouble. In the ninth Francisco Rodriguez earned his fifth save when, with the potential tying run on second, he induced a ground ball to third from Espinosa. David Wright?s throw to first was off the mark, but Davis caught it and applied the tag to end the game, as the Mets? recent good fortune continued.

�?Two weeks ago the guy slides and he?s safe and all hell breaks loose,? Collins said. ?Now things are happening and we?re making plays.?

INSIDE PITCH

The Mets made their annual visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center on Tuesday, this time without any of the controversy that surrounded their visit there in September. Led by Sandy Alderson, the team?s general manager and a Vietnam veteran, the Mets sent a contingent of 42 players and staff members. ... The Mets are hoping that the backup catcher Ronny Paulino can join the club Friday in Philadelphia.