WASHINGTON – Carlos Beltran went 3-for-5 with two doubles, including one that drove in two runs in the ninth, and the Mets came back to beat the Washington Nationals 6-3 last night to end a four-game losing streak.

Mets starter Aaron Heilman went six innings, giving up three runs on four hits, with five walks and five strikeouts.

Eric Valent led off the ninth against Luis Ayala (1-1) with a single to center, and Marlon Anderson followed with a broken-bat blooper to right for his seventh hit in 13 at-bats as a pinch hitter this season.

Jose Reyes then bunted, and catcher Gary Bennett’s throw to first was late, giving Reyes an infield single, loading the bases for Miguel Cairo, whose sacrifice fly put the Mets ahead 4-3. Beltran then hit a shot over left fielder Ryan Church’s head, making it 6-3.

That made a winner of Roberto Hernandez (2-0), who came on for Heilman in the seventh and threw two innings of scoreless, two-hit relief.

Braden Looper pitched the ninth, getting two quick outs before giving up a triple to Cristian Guzman and walking pinch-hitter Terrmel Sledge. But Looper got Brad Wilkerson on a comeback grounder for his fourth save.

The Nationals scored three in the third, then not again, but they might have thought that would be enough with John Patterson on the mound. He came in with a 0.98 ERA, and in his preceding three starts – all at home – he had allowed one run and 12 hits over 20 2/3 innings, striking out 17.

But the Mets got to the right-hander quickly. With one out in the first, singles put Cairo on third base and Beltran on first. During the next at-bat, Patterson faked a pickoff throw to third, then wheeled toward first, catching Beltran off the bag.

As the pitcher ran toward Beltran, Cairo took off for home. He scored comfortably because Patterson threw to first to try to get Beltran, who then broke toward second. First baseman Nick Johnson threw to shortstop Guzman, who dived and tagged out Beltran as the runner tried to get back to first.

Patterson then settled into a groove, retiring eight straight batters, until Beltran and Cliff Floyd hit consecutive doubles with one out in the fourth. Floyd’s liner to left-center, which cut the Mets’ deficit to 3-2, extended his hitting streak to 17 games, the longest in the majors this season.

After Mike Piazza walked and Doug Mientkiewicz flied out, David Wright singled to left to tie the game.

Heilman was lifted for pinch-hitter Kaz Matsui leading off the seventh, and Patterson gave way to Joey Eischen. But the only left-hander on the Nationals’ pitching staff broke his right arm leaping off the mound to grab Matsui’s chopper. Eischen will have surgery today and is expected to miss up to 12 weeks.