NEW YORK -- Washington Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez is not running out of ways to torment the New York Mets at Citi Field. But he might be running low on tongue-in-cheek answers to dodge questions about his dominance in the Big Apple.

Gonzalez continued his mastery of the Mets at Citi Field on Saturday afternoon, when he carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and earned the win with 6 1/3 strong innings as the surging Nationals posted a 3-1 victory.

Gonzalez (2-0) allowed one run on two hits and three walks while striking out six in improving to 9-1 with a 1.62 ERA in 14 career starts at Citi Field. Afterward, a regular custom commenced in the visitor's clubhouse as Gonzalez was queried about his success against the Mets.

"Any secrets?" Gonzalez asked with a grin. "No. Probably the food. I don't know. This clubhouse is unbelievable. The Latin food here is unbelievable.

"I don't know. It's a beautiful ballpark. Airplane over(head). Everything. I think it's just nice."

That was the greatest-hits version of Gonzalez's explanations. On May 2, 2015, after he threw seven shutout innings to earn the win in the Nationals' 1-0 victory, Gonzalez praised New York's "... great food" and added "... it's a beautiful city. The weather's amazing. The airport's awesome."

On May 18, 2016, Gonzalez applauded the fans and the elements, saying they generated a "... great atmosphere -- the fans are coming in, it's fun to see these guys cheering. Feels good outside, it was nice cool air."

Maybe the simplest and most accurate explanation for Gonzalez's success at Citi Field was offered by someone who had never seen him at the venue until Saturday.

"It's just like a hitter in some boxes -- you just feel comfortable," said Nationals catcher Matt Wieters, who signed with Washington in February after eight seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. "A pitcher on some mounds, they just feel comfortable. One guy that comes to mind is Miguel Gonzalez. Every time we played the Yankees, he always threw the ball well. For whatever reason, there are certain parks that you just feel good at."

Gio Gonzalez didn't get off to the best start Saturday, when he walked two batters during a 30-pitch first inning. But he set down 13 straight between the first and fifth -- a stretch in which the Nationals scored all three of their runs via an RBI single by Wieters in the fourth and run-scoring hits by Trea Turner (double) and Ryan Zimmerman (single) in the fifth -- to embark upon his second flirtation with a no-hitter at Citi Field. On Sept. 9, 2013, he carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and finished with a one-hit shutout.

This time, Gonzalez ran into trouble in the sixth, when he issued a leadoff walk to pinch hitter Jose Reyes before Juan Lagares ended the no-hit bid with a clean single up the middle. Reyes scored on a one-out single by Asdrubal Cabrera, but Gonzalez struck out Jay Bruce and Neil Walker to end the threat.

"Gio started out a little rough, but Wieters directed him through the game and he settled down," Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. "Excellent performance. He ran into a little trouble there but he got out of it."

Beginning with the Bruce strikeout, Gonzalez and three relievers combined to retire the final 11 batters they faced. Blake Treinen needed just three pitches to get the final two outs of the seventh, Enny Romero struck out two in 1 2/3 innings and Koda Glover earned his first career save by getting pinch-hitter Travis d'Arnaud to fly out to left.

"Our bullpen did an outstanding job," Baker said.

Turner, Adam Eaton and Daniel Murphy had two hits apiece for the Nationals (12-5), who have won six straight.

Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom (0-1) took the loss after giving up three runs on eight hits and six walks while striking out 10 over 5 2/3 innings.

"He didn't hit his spots," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "The base on balls killed him."

The Mets (8-10) have lost seven of eight, a stretch in which they've scored just 23 runs. Six of the losses have been by two runs or fewer while a seventh was a 6-2 decision New York dropped to the Philadelphia Phillies in 10 innings.

"When you get beat 3-1 and you think you got blown out, that's not good," Collins said. "Our pitching staff has kept us in games and we're just not giving them any help."

NOTES: The Mets were once again without LF Yoenis Cespedes (left hamstring), who missed his second straight game. ... Mets C Travis d'Arnaud (right wrist) was out of the starting lineup for a third straight game, but he flied out as a pinch hitter in the ninth. ... With an off-day Monday, Cespedes is likely to sit Sunday night as well. D'Arnaud is day-to-day. ... Nationals LF Jayson Werth (groin) missed his third straight game but could return to the lineup on Sunday night.