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WASHINGTON — Needing wins in a tense pennant race, the free-falling New York Mets can't find a way to beat the lowly Washington Nationals.

Sounds the same as last September.

Odalis Perez shut down the slumping Mets and scored the only run of the game, sending Washington to a 1-0 victory Tuesday night.

The Mets, who began the day with a half-game edge over Philadelphia, lost for the fourth time in five games. The Phillies rallied to beat Atlanta.

Willie Harris made another key catch against New York, which went 1-5 versus the Nationals during the final two weeks in 2007 — a big reason for its massive meltdown. The Mets held a seven-game cushion with 17 to play only to squander the division crown to Philadelphia and miss the playoffs in one of the worst collapses in baseball history.

They were up 3 1/2 games with 17 to go this year, and that lead is all gone.

Mets manager Jerry Manuel called a team meeting before the game, but things soon went sour. New York lost left fielder Fernando Tatis to a separated shoulder, wasted an outstanding start by Mike Pelfrey and managed only four hits in losing at Washington for the second consecutive night.

A day after John Lannan held the Mets to one hit over seven innings, New York mustered just two in the first seven innings against Perez (7-10).

The lefty retired 13 in a row between those two hits — which came in the first and sixth innings — and never let a Mets runner advance beyond second base. Perez struck out six and did not walk a batter in 7 1-3 innings, his longest outing since Aug. 11, 2005.

Perez gave way to Mike Hinckley after giving up singles to pinch-hitters Ramon Castro and Robinson Cancel in the eighth. Hinckley got Jose Reyes to ground into a fielder's choice, putting runners on first and third with two outs. He then struck out Ryan Church to end the threat.

Joel Hanrahan worked a perfect ninth for his ninth save. He struck out David Wright and Carlos Delgado.

Pelfrey (13-10) was the hard-luck loser. He allowed seven hits and four walks.

Manuel closed the clubhouse for about 15 minutes before the game. He said he'd decided to have the meeting after Monday night's 7-2 loss to the Nationals.

"You know, a lot of the time, preachers preach to themselves instead of the congregation," Manuel said before the meeting. "It's probably a good thing for me, kind of let them know where I am and how I feel about it. It'll probably be more for me than for them."

If the meeting was intended to reverse New York's recent slide, it was unsuccessful. With Perez sharp on the mound, the Nationals' lone run was enough to hold off the Mets.

With two outs, Perez hit a soft liner to left. Tatis dove for the ball and missed, allowing Perez to reach second with a double as the ball rolled past. Tatis remained on the ground in pain, eventually walking off with a separated right shoulder. He was replaced by Nick Evans.

After Harris walked, Cristian Guzman drove in Perez with a ground-rule double into the Mets' bullpen.

The Mets had one of their best offensive chances thwarted in the sixth on a nice catch by Harris.

Brian Schneider led off with a single and Jose Reyes reached when he was hit in the foot by Perez's pitch. With two outs, Wright hit a ball to left field that looked as though it would score at least one run. But Harris made a leaping catch with his back to the plate, ending the inning.

It was the third time in just more than a year that Harris' defense has stymied the Mets. On May 15, he helped preserve another 1-0 Washington win against Pelfrey with a spectacular catch in the ninth inning. Last August, playing with the Braves, he made a leaping catch to rob Delgado of a potential tying homer in the ninth inning of a 7-6 Atlanta victory.

Notes: Washington C Jesus Flores, sidelined since hurting his left ankle Sept. 2, said he's not sure whether his season is over — something manager Manny Acta said seemed likely. "I feel OK. Just getting better, and just waiting," said Flores, who was wearing a heavy black walking boot on his left foot. "I just got to wait. I don't know." ... INF Anderson Hernandez entered hitting .354 with 11 RBIs in 12 starts since the Nationals acquired him from the Mets last month. He was batting .203 at Triple-A New Orleans at the time of the trade. The difference? "Confidence," Hernandez said. "I don't think (about) anything. I just go out there and play."