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Perez takes mound as Mets seek fifth straight win

Jun 26, 2007 - 1:02 PM St Louis (33-40) at Ny Mets (42-32) 7:10 pm EDT

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- The New York Mets look to match a season-high five-game winning streak Tuesday when they face the St. Louis Cardinals.

Despite their winning streak, the Mets still are just 7-14 in June. They sit atop the National League East Division by 3 1/2 games over the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Mets have been getting good pitching, with their starters yielding just four runs over their last 38 innings. On Monday, Jorge Sosa threw six solid innings and Shawn Green hit a walk-off homer in the 11th to lead the Mets to a 2-1 victory.

Now, Oliver Perez (7-6, 3.16 ERA) takes the hill looking to keep up with his teammates. Perez is just 1-3 with a 4.39 ERA in his last four starts.

In his last start, the lefthander struggled with his command, walking five, and yielding four runs and five hits in a 6-2 loss to Minnesota on Wednesday.

Perez faced the Cardinals twice in last season's National League Championship Series, going 1-0 with a 4.63 ERA. He was the Game Seven starter and limited the Cardinals one run over six innings.

Perez will be opposed by Todd Wellemeyer (2-0, 4.66), who will make his sixth start of the season for St. Louis, which has lost its last seven regular-season games against New York.

Wellemeyer yielded four runs and five hits in five innings against Kansas City on Wednesday while not factoring into the decision.