Aaron Heilman (1-3) replaced Perez and got Jayson Werth to fly out with the bases loaded to end the eighth. Billy Wagner, who missed the series opener with a sore left shoulder, got three outs for his second save in two days and 26th of the season.

New York improved to 9-4 against the Phillies this year after going 6-12 against them last season and losing the final eight meetings. That head-to-head dominance helped Philadelphia rally past the collapsing Mets to win the 2007 NL East title.

Perez fired a called strike past Bruntlett at 12:10 p.m. in the unusual early start. Sections of summer-camp kids provided streaks of color in the upper deck of Shea Stadium, and construction workers at new Citi Field watched a few innings from beyond the center-field wall.

The kids and workers in hard hats were treated to terrific pitching performances by the 26-year-old Perez and 45-year-old Jamie Moyer.

Perez ran his scoreless streak against Philadelphia to 24 1-3 innings before Werth led off the seventh with a mammoth drive to center that hit the top tier of a camera tower. His 13th homer of the season tied it at 1 and was just the fourth earned run allowed by Perez in his last four starts.

Moyer retired eight of his first nine batters before running into trouble in the third, hurt by an uncharacteristic lapse in control. Jose Reyes walked with two outs and stole second. Moyer then walked rookie Nick Evans, and Wright lined his next pitch into left for an RBI single.

Moyer allowed one run and two hits in seven innings. He struck out six and walked three.

Notes: The Mets are expected to promote RHP Brandon Knight from Triple-A New Orleans to start against St. Louis on Saturday. Knight isn’t expected to be with the club very long and should be able to compete for the U.S. in the Beijing Olympics. ... New York OF Angel Pagan is slated to have season-ending surgery Tuesday on his left (non-throwing) shoulder. ... Moyer entered with just 34 walks in 120 innings this season. ... Jerry Manuel isn’t sure when RHP Pedro Martinez will rejoin the team. Martinez was traveling to the Dominican Republic after the death of his father. ... Ryan Howard needs one more homer to become the third Phillies player to hit 30 or more in three consecutive seasons. Hall of Famers Chuck Klein and Mike Schmidt are the other two sluggers.

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