WASHINGTON — Livan Hernandez is looking to bounce back from consecutive horrendous outings here tonight when he takes the mound against his former team at Nationals Park in the opener of a three-game series.

Hernandez had been one of the surprises of the Mets’ season, winning five of his first six decisions, but the journeyman right-hander has allowed a staggering 15 earned runs in just seven innings over his past two starts.

The Mets are hoping history is on their side, though, considering Hernandez is 10-5 with a 3.74 ERA in 16 career starts against the Nationals. That includes a 2-0 record with a 4.15 ERA in two career starts at the new stadium here. Hernandez will face off against rookie righty J.D. Martin, who is making his major-league debut for the last-place (and worst in baseball) Nationals.

Here is the 43-48 Mets’ order for the 7:05 p.m. game:

Angel Pagan CF

Luis Castillo 2B

Daniel Murphy 1B

David Wright 3B

Jeff Francoeur RF

Jeremy Reed LF

Alex Cora SS

Brian Schneider C

Livan Hernandez RHP (5-5, 5.10)

Hernandez’s numbers against the Nationals’ hitters

The 26-65 Nationals will counter with:

Nyjer Morgan CF

Ronnie Belliard 2B

Nick Johnson 1B

Adam Dunn LF

Cristian Guzman SS

Austin Kearns RF

Willie Harris 3B

Josh Bard C

J.D. Martin RHP (debut)