Delgado's two homers power Mets

NEW YORK - Carlos Delgado hit two impressive homers for the second straight game, Carlos Beltran had a go-ahead shot to reach 100 RBIs, and the New York Mets increased their NL East lead by beating the scrappy Washington Nationals, 10-8, last night at Shea Stadium.

Ryan Church also homered, Jose Reyes snapped an 0-for-15 slide with two hits, and the Mets started a stretch of 12 games against the bottom two teams in the division with an offensive display that offset Oliver Perez's rough outing.

New York moved 2 1/2 games ahead of second-place Philadelphia.

Every Mets starter except for Perez had a hit by the fourth inning, including David Wright, who took extra batting practice on the field with manager Jerry Manuel and hitting coach Howard Johnson. Wright was 4 for 21 coming in but had two hits and an RBI.

New York won when giving up eight or more runs for the third time this year, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Mets beat Philadelphia, 10-9, July 7 and Cincinnati, 10-8, July 17.

Luis Ayala pitched a perfect ninth for his sixth save in seven chances since coming to the Mets last month in a trade with Washington.

Joe Smith (4-3), the fourth of seven Mets pitchers, worked 1 2/3 innings for the win.

Delgado's first home run, off John Lannan, smashed off the scoreboard in right-center, about 440 feet away. His second homer followed Beltran's two-run drive that gave the Mets a 9-8 lead in the sixth, and the 50,382 fans at Shea Stadium chanted "MVP! MVP!" for the first baseman.