WHAT IT MEANS: Maybe Miguel Batista, who starts Saturday if you had not heard, was on to something.

Batista proclaimed the Mets better than the Nationals, and every other major league team, during a postgame interview Wednesday. The Mets, fueled by David Wright’s first multi-homer game of the season, then stated that case with a 9-5 win against Washington on Thursday afternoon.

Behind Wright’s five-RBI performance, the Mets snapped a six-game losing streak and salvaged the finale of a second-half-opening trip to Atlanta and D.C. They also avoided dipping to .500 for the first time since May 4.

R.A. Dickey (13-1) topped Gio Gonzalez in a battle of the NL’s co-wins leaders. In fact, Gonzalez (12-5) had his shortest outing this season, allowing six runs in 3 1/3 innings. The Mets built a 9-1 lead in the fourth after Gonzalez's departure. Dickey was charged with four runs (three earned) on 10 hits in 7 1/3 innings.

Josh Edgin coaxed Bryce Harper to fly out to right-center to end the eighth with the Nats having pulled within five runs and the bases loaded. Bobby Parnell surrendered a ninth-inning run when Roger Bernadina narrowly beat out a two-out ground ball to second for an infield single.

Wright opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the first and was intentionally walked in the third inning. He then delivered a three-run homer in the fourth against Craig Stammen. Coupled with a ninth-inning homer Wednesday against Tyler Clippard in a comeback bid that fell a run short, Wright homered in three straight at-bats for the second time in his career.

He also went deep in three straight at-bats against the Yankees from May 19-20, 2007 -- with three intentional walks interspersed. The final homer during that stretch also came against Clippard, after a pair the previous day against Mike Myers.

Thursday marked the 18^th multi-homer game of Wright’s career, passing Carlos Beltran for second on the franchise’s all-time list. Darryl Strawberry holds the Mets record with 22 multi-homer games.

Ike Davis also homered against Gonzalez, on a shot to open the second inning. Wright and Davis are tied for the team lead with 14 homers.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Mets return home to face the Los Angeles Dodgers. Johan Santana (6-6, 3.59 ERA) opposes right-hander Aaron Harang (6-5, 3.53) in Friday’s 7:10 p.m. opener. Daughtry performs postgame.