NEW YORK -- Josiah Gray returned to the mound on Friday night for the first time since Aug. 20, after the Nationals skipped his last turn in the rotation as they monitor the 24-year-old’s spike in innings.

A native of nearby New Rochelle, N.Y., Gray tossed five frames, allowing six runs on six hits, two home runs, four walks and two strikeouts in the Nats’ 7-3 loss to the Mets in his first start at Citi Field. 

“I know they’ve got a good team over there, so [I was] sticking to the game plan, not trying to let the moment get too big,” Gray said. “Obviously, I enjoyed pitching back here in New York and getting a little bit of rest. … The results didn’t go my way, but I felt really good.”

Mixed in with the home runs allowed to Eduardo Escobar (second inning) and Pete Alonso (sixth inning) were three scoreless frames and a pair of 1-2-3 innings. Gray’s outing came to an end after allowing Alonso’s go-ahead homer and putting runners on first and second with no outs and trailing the Mets, 4-3.

“I thought he handled it really well, I really did,” said manager Dave Martinez. “He kept us in the ballgame. Sixth inning, he comes out and he made a couple mistakes, tried going over the plate, [and the] ball started getting up on him. For me, that’s an indication that he probably was a little bit tired. But other than that, he threw the ball well.”

Of his 95 pitches (56 strikes), Gray delivered 37 percent fastballs, 26 percent sliders, 22 percent curveballs, 9 percent sinkers and 5 percent changeups. Escobar’s home run was off an 83.1 mph curveball, and the dinger by Alonso came off a 93.4 mph sinker.

“For me, I think it’s just about him pitching down, sometimes pitching in more,” Martinez said. “But that’s something that he’s going to learn. I think for the most part, when he keeps the ball down, he’s got good life on his fastball, it runs and it’s just really good.”

A competitive and routine-oriented athlete, Gray used the extra time between starts to hone in on specifics of his repertoire. He worked on improving his breaking balls and throwing fastballs to both sides of the plate to fill up the strike zone, while facing simulated batters to replicate game scenarios whenever possible.

“I felt like the work in between outings was good work,” Gray said. “I felt like it was concentrated work.”

Gray’s 2022 innings total grew to 128 1/3 after Friday’s start. In comparison, he threw a combined 86 1/3 frames last year (70 2/3 in the Majors, 15 2/3 in the Minors) as a rookie.

The Nationals are being cautious with their young pitchers late in the season, especially with several already sidelined. Their No. 4 prospect, Cade Cavalli, was diagnosed with right shoulder inflammation two days after his Major League debut (15-day IL, retroactive to Aug. 28), Jackson Tetreault sustained a right scapula stress fracture following his fourth start (60-day IL, retroactive to July 3) and Evan Lee made four appearances before being sidelined by a left flexor strain (60-day IL, June 18). MacKenzie Gore had already been on the 15-day injured list since July 26 with left elbow inflammation when Washington acquired him from San Diego on Aug. 2.

While Gray has had conversations with the coaching staff about his innings, Martinez does not want him to focus on that when he gets on the mound.

“Whenever they tell me to take the ball, I’ll take the ball,” said Gray. “I’m sure we’re going to have continued conversations over this last month-and-a-week. Whenever they say, ‘Hey, you’re lined up here,’ I’ll go out, do my bullpens, do my work in between starts and be prepared for my next outing.”