On an unusually chilly night with winds gusting to more than 20 mph, Jesus Flores and Lastings Milledge each had two-run doubles and Washington ended a three-game slide by first taking advantage of Nelson Figueroa's wildness then doing something they haven't been able to all season: get hits with runners on base.
The Nationals came in hitting a major league-worst .237 with men on base and scored their first six runs on just five hits - and five walks, two hit batters and two errors. They scored their first three runs on a sacrifice fly, bases-loaded walk and a throwing error by Figueroa (2-3), who was attempting to make a play at the plate on Felipe Lopez's tapper to the mound in the fourth.
In the fifth and sixth innings, the Nationals got five run-scoring hits when they scored seven runs to open a 10-3 lead.
Making his 200th career start, Perez (1-3) gave up a season-high 11 hits and four runs - more than two runs for just the third time - but Washington scored at least four runs in one of his starts for just the second time this year.
Perez led off the third with a single and scored on a bases-loaded walk, and had RBI singles in the fifth and sixth, when Washington batted around for four runs off reliever Jorge Sosa. His sacrifice in the fourth put runners on second and third before Figueroa made his throwing error. He finished 3-for-3.
Perez left with one out in the seventh after giving up David Wright's seventh homer and Carlos Beltran's single. He made a slow walk to the dugout, without a hint of a smile and rubbing his cold hands together. He struck out five and walked three.
Before the game, Mets manager Willie Randolph praised the Mets as looking "hitterish," and they did, getting at least 11 hits -12 Monday - for the fifth time in six games, but they left 11 runners on base.
Damion Easley homered to center in the second, his first since Aug. 18 at Washington. He was filling in for Luis Castillo, who strained his left quadriceps running out a triple Sunday. Castillo is day to day. Easley added an RBI single in the third to give New York a 3-2 lead.
Figueroa gave up six runs - four earned - and five hits in five innings. He struck out four.
