NEW YORK -- Matt Harvey is back for the New York Mets. And Bobby Parnell is, too.

Harvey, 20 months removed from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, snapped out of a four-start slump by throwing seven shutout innings Tuesday and Parnell recorded the final five outs for his first save since his own right elbow ligament replacement operation as the Mets edged the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 at Citi Field.

"We're sitting there in the ninth inning today and (pitching coach) Dan (Warthen) and I are talking (and saying) this night's going to come down to two big huge keys: Matt Harvey's back and Bobby Parnell's back," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "If this continues, this is going to change the dynamics of what we've got to face here in the next three months."

The Mets (36-30) finished 5-3 on the homestand -- which began June 9 with New York getting no-hit by San Francisco Giants rookie right-hander Chris Heston -- to extend their National League East lead over the Washington Nationals to 1 1/2 games.

Among the first four wins on the homestand for the Mets were two walk-offs as well as a comeback from a five-run deficit on Sunday against the Atlanta Braves. It appeared as if Tuesday's victory would be stress-free when Harvey -- who had a 1.98 ERA in his first eight starts before recording a 7.20 ERA in his next four starts leading up to Tuesday -- exited with a 3-0 lead after allowing just four hits, walking none and striking out six.

The fiery, attention-seeking Harvey (7-4) punctuated his final out of the evening by winding up his right arm and pumping it furiously.

"I've been around this guy for three years," Collins said. "He was focused tonight. He was going to pitch a good game tonight."

But the Mets' piecemeal bullpen -- which lacked an eighth-inning set-up man all season and was missing right-handed closer Jeurys Familia on Tuesday because he threw 48 pitches over 2 2/3 innings the previous two days -- nearly blew the lead in the eighth.

Right-hander Carlos Torres issued a leadoff walk to second baseman Ryan Goins before giving up singles to center fielder Kevin Pillar and shortstop Jose Reyes.

Third base coach Luis Rivera held up Goins on Reyes' single, but Pillar didn't see the stop sign and raced almost all the way to third, where he was tagged out by first baseman Lucas Duda.

"We gave them an out right there where we really had them on the ropes," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said.

Torres then walked third baseman Josh Donaldson to load the bases for right fielder Jose Bautista and force Collins to bring in Parnell. The Mets' former closer underwent Tommy John surgery on April 8, 2014, and posted an 11.57 ERA and allowed 36 baserunners over 14 minor league innings during 15 rehab appearances prior to being activated from the disabled list last Thursday.

"Sometimes to swim you've got to jump in the deep end, right?" Parnell said.

Parnell retired Bautista on a sacrifice fly and gave up an RBI single to first baseman Edwin Encarnacion before he struck out left fielder Chris Colabello to end the threat. Parnell then threw a perfect ninth to close out his first save since July 30, 2013.

"That was definitely a fun matchup, obviously going through what we did last year and parts of this year with him," Harvey said. "That was a big save for him and a big win for us."

Parnell's mound response to his final out was as understated as Harvey's was boisterous. As a fly ball off the bat of Goins landed in the glove of left fielder Darrell Ceciliani, Parnell stood still for several seconds gazing out at Ceciliani before turning and exchanging handshakes with catcher Travis d'Arnaud.

"Saw the ball was a catchable ball and finally had some weight off my shoulders," Parnell said.

Third baseman Ruben Tejada had an RBI single immediately before Harvey laced an RBI doub