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Carlos Carrasco took a measure of satisfaction Tuesday from his third straight shortened outing.

“I knew I wasn’t going to throw that many pitches because I did a lot in my two previous,” Carrasco said after the Mets’ 4-2 victory over the Nationals in Game 1 of a doubleheader. “I couldn’t get a feel in the last two starts and this one I felt better.”

Carrasco was removed after surrendering a two-run homer in the fifth to Riley Adams. He lasted four-plus innings that consisted of 73 pitches and allowed two earned runs on five hits.

The Mets kept their slim NL East title chances alive with the win. The Braves played a later game in Miami within a victory of clinching their fifth straight division title. A Mets loss in their final two games would also clinch the division for Atlanta.

The Game 1 victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Mets, who were swept in Atlanta over the weekend before Monday’s game was rained out. Buck Showalter was keeping his options open for Wednesday’s regular-season finale, with Jacob deGrom a possibility to pitch if the game had meaning to the Mets. The risk would be starting deGrom and then ending up in the best-of-three wild-card round beginning Friday, precluding the ace from pitching on full rest (if at all) in the series.

Brandon Nimmo knocked in three runs and Jeff McNeil’s pursuit of the batting title remained strong with a 2-for-3 performance that raised his average to .328, three points ahead of Freddie Freeman for the NL lead. Freeman played a later game against Colorado.

Carrasco lasted just three innings against the Marlins last week, which followed a start in Milwaukee in which he was removed after four. His curtailed starts have occurred as Taijuan Walker is showing late-season improvement, perhaps simplifying the equation for team brass on which pitcher would best fit a NLDS rotation behind deGrom, Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt. In the wild-card round, the Mets would need only three starters.

“Carlos gave us what he had and in a little different situation we probably would have let him continue,” Showalter said. “We had a lot of people available in the bullpen and they did the job for us. Four solid innings. Carlos wasn’t too happy with his last two outings. I know tonight meant a lot to him.

“We have got some tough decisions to make down the road and we have got some good options to pick from. We’ll take everything into play and once we find out who we are playing and when we are playing, and there’s just variables that are causing us to pivot.”

For the season, Carrasco has pitched 152 innings. Last season he pitched only 53 ²/₃ innings after missing the first four months with a hamstring injury. He also pitched fewer than 100 innings in each of 2019 (when he fought cancer) and 2020 (a pandemic-shortened season).

“There were some unknowns coming into the year about him, about him being able to hold up and be effective, but he has been,” Showalter said. “He’s been solid.”

Drew Smith, David Peterson, Adam Ottavino and Edwin Diaz combined to pitch the final five innings scoreless. Diaz recorded the final four outs and earned his 32nd save in 35 chances.

Nimmo delivered a two-run double in the second against Cory Abbott that gave the Mets their first runs. Mark Canha was hit by a career-high 28th pitch in the inning and reached second on a passed ball before Tomas Nido singled and Nimmo brought in both runners.

McNeil singled leading off the third and walks to Pete Alonso and Eduardo Escobar loaded the bases before Canha’s sacrifice fly extended the Mets’ lead to 3-0.

Nimmo led off the fourth with his 15th homer of the season. But the Nationals cut the Mets’ four-run lead in half in the bottom of the inning on Adams’ blast that ended Carrasco’s day.