NEW YORK -- Johan Santana allowed eight hits in seven innings, and the New York Mets took advantage of the only two mistakes made by Roy Oswalt to beat the Houston Astros 3-0 on Friday night.

Brian Schneider hit a two-run homer and David Wright had an RBI single as the Mets beat a team with a record over .500 after winning nine of 10 against lowly Washington, Pittsburgh and Atlanta to open a 2 1/2-game lead over Philadelphia in the NL East coming in.

The Mets have gone 14-4 since being swept by Houston in a three-game series to start the month.

Schneider's homer made it 3-0 in the second. The other mistake by Owswalt (11-9) was a wild pitch that set up Wright's RBI single in the first.

Santana (12-7) won his third straight start and fifth straight decision. He struck out five and walked one, and turned the game over to Aaron Heilman and Luis Ayala, who earned his first save of the season

The Astros twice had runners on second and third but a resilient Santana shut down Houston, the second time knocking down a sharp comebacker by Lance Berkman with his glove and recovering to make the throw and end the fifth.

Santana struck out five and walked one, and turned the game over to Aaron Heilman and Luis Ayala.

Heilman pitched a perfect eighth and Ayala, acquired on Sunday from Washington, earned his first save of the season with a 1-2-3 inning.

Oswalt (11-9) gave up four hits in the first two innings. He retired his last 19 batters after giving up Schneider's fifth homer in the second. He gave up one hit in a 3-0 win over Randy Johnson and Arizona on Sunday and beat All-Star Tim Lincecum on Aug. 12.

Notes:@ In honor of Fiesta Latina, the Mets home whites had "Los Mets" written in script across the front. ... 2B Luis Castillo (strained hip flexor) will be activated by New York on Saturday. ... With his second-inning single, 3B Geoff Blum enacted a clause in his contract that ensures he'll return to Houston for 2009. He needed 250 plate appearances to get the guarantee. ... The Astros activated INF Jose Castillo after claiming him off outright waivers from San Francisco.