WASHINGTON – Tom Glavine overcame a rocky outing for his third straight win, and the Mets ended Livan Hernandez’s 2 1/2-month winning streak last night with a 5-3 victory over the Washington Nationals.

The Mets tagged a laboring Hernandez for four runs and eight hits, ending the All-Star right-hander’s run of 11 consecutive winning decisions that equaled the franchise record. Hernandez (12-3) stalked the mound in frustration after some of his 125 pitches before leaving after Carlos Beltran’s single to start the eighth, with a standing ovation following him to the dugout. It was his first loss since April 19.

Mike Cameron homered in the first for the Mets, and three more runs followed in a sixth that would have been more productive if not for two base running errors. Glavine (6-7) pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed three runs and nine hits – all singles – for his 268th victory, tying Jim Palmer for 31st on the career list.

Aaron Heilman threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief, and Braden Looper pitched a perfect ninth for his 19th save in 22 tries.

Glavine didn’t have his best stuff, a fact that became evident when the Nationals started hitting virtually everything he threw over the plate. He had an 0-1 count on just one of the 21 batters he faced in the first four innings. He finished with three walks, including one intentional, ending a streak of 11 starts with two walks or fewer.

But, while the Nationals peppered him with hits, none of them went for extra bases. Washington got its only payoff with a three-run fourth, when Jamey Carroll took an outside pitch to right field for an RBI single and Brad Wilkerson singled to bring home two more runs.

After Cameron’s first-inning blast, Hernandez had more trouble in the second, but the Mets couldn’t take advantage. A double by Marlon Anderson, an intentional walk to Miguel Cairo, and a walk to Glavine loaded the bases with two outs and had Hernandez walking around in disgust. Jose Reyes, back in the leadoff spot after two games at no.7, lined a pitch to center field but right at Wilkerson to end the inning.

Hernandez had thrown 61 pitches through three innings and reached 100 in the sixth, when he was fortunate to allow only three runs.

With none out and the bases loaded, Anderson knocked in a run with a broken-bat dribbler down the third-base line for an infield hit. Ramon Castro followed with a two-run single, but he strayed too far off first and was thrown out by Hernandez, who had been backing up home plate. Anderson then strayed too far on Cairo’s lineout to right fielder Jose Guillen, who threw to second for the double play.

The inning gave the Mets a 4-3 lead. The Nationals loaded the bases in the sixth with two walks and an error, chasing Glavine, but Heilman got Guillen to ground out to end the threat.

The Mets added a fifth run in the eighth when Beltran scored on Anderson’s sacrifice fly. Anderson and Castro each finished with two hits and two RBI.

The Mets have won two of three in the four-game series, which means the Nationals will not win a home series for the first time since April 25-27, when Philadelphia took two of three.