(My Sportsbook) - After earning their first official victory in their brand new stadium on Wednesday, the New York Mets go for their first series win at Citi Field when the club wraps up a three-game set with the San Diego Padres tonight.

After ringing in their impressive 42,000-seat, $800-million new home with a disappointing 6-5 loss to the Padres on Monday, the Mets put an end to San Diego's five-game winning streak with last night's 7-2 triumph. Oliver Perez delivered six outstanding innings on the mound for New York, while Carlos Delgado went 2-for-3 with a solo homer to lead the Mets' offense.

Perez (1-1) rebounded strongly from an awful season debut in Cincinnati last week by holding the Padres to one run on just three hits and a pair of walks. The enigmatic pitcher was staked to a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning on Carlos Beltran's RBI single and a double-play grounder off the bat of Gary Sheffield that brought in another run.

Sheffield made his first start since being picked up by the Mets just prior to the start of the season and finished 0-for-2 with a run scored. The longtime slugger needs just one home run to become the 25th player in major league history to reach 500 for his career.

Scott Hairston went 2-for-3 with an RBI single and Adrian Gonzalez hit a solo home run for San Diego, which had won six of its first eight games of the season.

Padres starter Kevin Correia (0-1) received the loss after allowing two runs on five hits over the first five innings.

San Diego will attempt to bounce back behind its ace pitcher, as Jake Peavy takes the mound in tonight's finale. The 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner is coming off a near complete-game performance on Saturday, when he struck out 10 San Francisco hitters over 8 1/3 frames and allowed three runs in a 6-3 Padres' win over the Giants at Petco Park.

Through his first two starts of 2009, Peavy has racked up 18 strikeouts and walked just two batters over 15 1/3 innings.

The two-time All-Star did not face the Mets last season, but he's given the team trouble in previous years. In nine career starts against New York, Peavy owns a 4-2 record with a 3.32 earned run average.

He'll be opposed tonight by John Maine, who made his first regular-season start since last August this past Friday in Miami. It was a solid debut for the right-hander, as Maine gave up only a pair of solo home runs and struck out five in a five-inning no decision against the Marlins.

Maine made just 25 starts for the Mets a year ago due to shoulder problems and underwent surgery to remove a bone spur during the offseason. He finished 10-8 with a 4.18 ERA in 2008, one year after winning a career-best 15 games for New York.

The 27-year-old has faced the Padres twice previously and gotten a no decision both times while surrendering seven runs over 11 2/3 innings.

The Mets took two of three games from San Diego in the Padres' lone visit to Shea Stadium last season, but lost five of the seven overall matchups between these teams a year ago.