MLB

Mets Capitol-ize in D.C. for 5th straight; Young OK

WASHINGTON — Chris Young’s right arm didn’t fall off, and the Mets won. Nobody said it had to be pretty.

“I threw some good pitches, and not as many as I would have liked, but we won the game, so I’m happy,” Young said after the Mets won their fifth straight, 6-4 over the Nationals last night.

In his return from the disabled list, Young lasted 4 2/3 innings and surrendered three earned runs on four hits and two walks. The righty was on a pitch count, exiting after 88 pitches, opening the bullpen door for the real heroes of last night’s victory.

Ryota Igarashi, Taylor Buchholz, Jason Isringhausen and Francisco Rodriguez combined to allow one run over the final 4 1/3 innings, helping the Mets celebrate their longest winning streak since last June.

After a horrid start to the season, the bullpen has posted a 2.25 ERA over the Mets’ last 10 games.

Buchholz’s two shutout innings — before Isringhausen allowed a run in the eighth and Rodriguez slammed the door in the ninth for his fifth save — were the keys.

“I was just going out there trying to pound the zone as much as possible and pass the ball to the next person going out there,” Buchholz said.

“Everyone has kind of found their role now, so we’re all prepared to go into a game when that situation comes up, which makes the biggest difference.”

Josh Thole’s bloop double against lefty reliever Doug Slaten scored two runs in the sixth, putting the Mets ahead 5-3. It came after successive singles by Jason Bay and Ike Davis ended Jordan Zimmermann’s night. Thole finished with a career-high three RBIs.

Young’s troubles came in the fourth, when Jayson Werth homered leading off and Wilson Ramos hit a solo homer to make it 3-3.

The blast was Ramos’ second of the game — he also homered in the second inning.

In the fifth, Mets manager Terry Collins summoned Igarashi with two outs and two runners aboard to face Werth. Igarashi rose to the occasion with a strikeout.

“The shoulder felt great,” said Young, who spent two weeks recovering from right biceps tendinitis. “There were no issues. I didn’t think about my arm once.”

The Mets grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second against Zimmermann, getting an RBI groundout from Thole before Young and Davis executed a perfect safety squeeze.

Young placed a bunt between the pitcher’s mound and third base, allowing Davis to race home with the second run of the inning.

“It just was the perfect bunt,” Davis said.

The Mets’ lead was extended to 3-1 in the third inning on Carlos Beltran’s RBI double. Daniel Murphy doubled leading off the inning and scored on Beltran’s shot to right field.

In the ninth, the Mets got an insurance run after Nationals lefty reliever Sean Burnett plunked two batters. David Wright’s RBI ground out made it 6-4.

The Nationals had pulled within 5-4 an inning earlier on Ramos’ RBI single against Isringhausen.

Suddenly, a team that could do nothing right has found plenty of answers.

“A couple of weeks ago everybody was trying so hard, I guess you could use the phrase they were pressing,” Collins said.

“I think they are starting to relax a little bit, and the starting pitching is getting us in situations where our relievers can be used as they should be used.”

FINISHING TOUCH: Frankie Rodriguez (75) shakes hands with first-base coach Mookie Wilson in D.C. last night after closing out the Mets’ 6-4 win over the Nationals — the Amazin’s fifth straight victory after their dreadful start. (EPA)

mpuma@nypost.com