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Mets aim to maintain winning ways, eye payback vs. Astros

Aug 22, 2008 - 10:20 AM Houston (64-63) at NY Mets (71-57) 7:10 pm EDT

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- When the New York Mets met the Houston Astros at the beginning of the month, they found themselves on the wrong end of a three-game sweep. Since then, no team has been better.

The Mets aim to continue their torrid stretch on Friday when they host the Astros.

When New York finished its last series against Houston on August 3, it capped a stretch that saw the Mets go 7-9 following the All-Star break, sinking them into third place in the National League East.

Following a day off, the Mets ran off victories in four of their next five, sparking a 13-4 run that has put them 2 1/2 games ahead of Philadelphia (68-59).

New York punctuated its recent surge by sweeping its longtime nemesis, the Atlanta Braves, with a dramatic 5-4 win on Thursday as Carlos Delgado capped off his first five-hit game in 10 years with a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth.

The Mets will turn to Johan Santana (11-7, 2.75 ERA), who has fueled New York's recent run with wins in two straight starts for the first time since May 27-June 1, against Houston. The two-time American League Cy Young winner tossed a three-hit shutout - his first of the season - striking out seven in a 4-0 victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Like Santana, Roy Oswalt (11-8, 4.28) has not lost since June and has been red-hot. The righthander, who yielded a single hit over eight frames in Sunday's 3-0 win over Arizona, matched his season high with 10 strikeouts to post his third victory in as many starts and improve to 5-0 with a 2.93 ERA over his last seven outings.