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Mets face Nationals, try to keep lead in NL East

Sep 9, 2008 - 1:18 PM Washington (56-88) at NY Mets (80-63) 7:10 p.m. EDT

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- The New York Mets hold a two-game advantage in the loss column over the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East Division, but with the memory of last season's September collapse still fresh in the minds, the club is far from comfortable with the slim lead.

The Mets will try to maintain their lead Tuesday when they open up a two-game series against the Washington Nationals.

There are no more head-to-head series between the Mets and Phillies left on the schedule, but both clubs spend the majority of the last three weeks facing division rivals - a trio of clubs at or below the .500 mark. The Mets have two series each against the Nationals and Atlanta Braves, with their biggest test to come the last week of the season when they face the NL Central Division-leading Chicago Cubs.

Luckily for the Mets, Tuesday's starter, Oliver Perez (10-7, 3.86 ERA), hasn't lost since August 3, a string of six starts. He is 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA during that span and the Mets have lost just one of those six starts. His best effort was an August 8 home game against the Florida Marlins, in which Perez tossed seven scoreless innings, giving up just two hits while striking out eight and walking three.

The Nationals will counter with lefthander John Lannan (8-13, 3.88), who dropped his last decision, a 4-0 loss to Philadelphia.