(Sports Network) - The New York Mets will open a short two-game series this evening against the Washington Nationals, a team that gave the current NL East leaders fits in their historical breakdown of last season.

Washington won five of six games down the stretch in 2007 against the Mets, who blew a seven-game lead in the National League East standings with 17 games to go. This season, however, the Mets own an 8-4 advantage in the series and have six games remaining against the Nationals. Washington will host the Mets for four games from September 15-18 at Nationals Park.

New York is just 1 1/2 games ahead of Philadelphia in the division standings and recently split a doubleheader with the Phillies to avoid a sweep at Shea Stadium. Philadelphia won the opener on Friday and took the first game of the twinbill on Sunday afternoon. The Mets, though, responded with a 6-3 victory in the nightcap, as Carlos Delgado clubbed a pair of solo home runs and finished with four RBI to lead the way.

Ryan Church and Damion Easley each went 2-for-4 with a run scored for the Mets, who won for the fifth time in their last seven games. Starter Johan Santana, who hasn't lost since June 28, recorded the win and allowed just two runs on five hits in 7 1/3 innings of work. The lefty hasn't lost the past 13 games he's started and is 6-0 during the unbeaten run.

The Mets, who are 1-2 on an eight-game homestand, will hand the ball to Oliver Perez on Tuesday. Perez is 3-0 in his last six starts, with the Mets going 5-1 during that stretch. He previously took the hill Wednesday at Milwaukee and earned the win with 6 2/3 frames of two-run ball in New York's 9-2 victory.

Perez, a left-hander, is 10-7 in 29 starts this season and will face Washington for the third time in 2008. He is 1-1 so far, as well as 3-3 with a 5.45 earned run average over seven career starts against the Nationals.

Washington will try to play spoiler again on Tuesday, when it continues a nine-game road trip against NL East foes. It split a four-game series with the Atlanta Braves to kick off the trek and will also visit the Florida Marlins for three games in Miami after this two-game set in the Big Apple.

The Nationals earned a split of their series at Atlanta with Sunday's 7-4 victory in 14 innings. Elijah Dukes was the hero by stroking a three-run double in the bottom of the 14th to lift the Nats, who are 25-48 away from home this season.

Alberto Gonzalez homered and added a game-tying two-run double in the eighth inning for Washington, which got two scoreless innings of relief from Steven Shell for the win. Starter Collin Balester did not record a decision after he gave up four runs on 11 hits in six innings of work.

Lastings Milledge added a solo home run for the Nationals.

John Lannan gets the nod for Manny Acta's ballclub tonight and is 8-13 with a 3.88 earned run average in 27 starts. Lannan had a personal two-start winning streak halted his last time out on September 2 versus Philadelphia, when he surrendered two runs and five hits over six frames of a 4-0 loss.

Lannan, a lefty, is 0-1 in two starts against the Mets in 2008 and 0-2 with a 5.09 ERA in three lifetime performances in this series.