Their NL East lead now down to 2½ games, the Mets will be hoping Oliver Perez can give them a series win over the Braves today when he takes on rookie right-hander Jorge Campillo at Shea Stadium. Perez is 5-2 with a 3.07 ERA in 14 starts since June 29 but has just one decision in his past five outings. The lefty, though, has excelled against division opponents this season, going 5-1 with a 2.96 ERA in 13 starts.

Campillo, on the other hand, is 0-3 in his past six starts since Aug. 13. He has faced the Mets once this season, shutting them down for eight innings in a 6-2 Braves win in Atlanta on May 20.

As for Jerry Manuel’s lineup, Daniel Murphy is in left and Carlos Delgado is batting cleanup with the Mets finally facing a righty after a string of lefties. Luis Castillo is starting at second, but that is due to Damion Easley’s quad injury.

Here is the overall order for the 83-64 Mets:

Jose Reyes SS

Daniel Murphy LF

David Wright 3B

Carlos Delgado 1B

Carlos Beltran CF

Ryan Church RF

Luis Castillo 2B

Brian Schneider C

Oliver Perez (10-7, 4.15)

The 66-83 Braves will counter with:

Josh Anderson CF

Martin Prado 2B

Chipper Jones 3B

Brian McCann C

Omar Infante LF

Jeff Francoeur RF

Casey Kotchman 1B

Brent Lillibridge SS

Jorge Campillo RHP (7-7, 3.70)

Game time: 1:10 p.m.

TV: CW11.