(Best E Casino) - The New York Mets are swinging a hot bat right now and have played well in Florida as of late. That isn't good news for Ricky Nolasco, who tries to reverse his fortunes against the club when the Marlins begin a three-game set with the Mets this evening at Dolphin Stadium.

The Mets took two of three over the Cardinals this weekend, scoring a total of 24 runs in the series. New York has plated at least six runs in six of its last seven games, going 5-2 in that span while taking over the top spot in the National League East.

The Mets also got excellent pitching in Sunday's finale, as Johan Santana posted the first complete game of his New York career. Santana (9-7) allowed just a run on six hits while striking out five.

David Wright, Fernando Tatis and Ramon Castro each had a home run and two RBI for the Mets, who lead the NL East by one game over Philadelphia. Third-place Florida is two games off the pace.

The Mets have won four of six versus the Marlins this year, taking two of three at Dolphin Stadium from March 31-April 2. New York is 12-2 over its last 14 visits to Florida.

Nolasco will try to cool off the Mets, but that will be a tough task given his 2-3 record and 9.55 earned run average against them in seven games, including five starts. The right-hander did throw three scoreless innings against the Mets on March 31 and also posted a victory over them on May 26 despite allowing three runs over five innings on nine hits, including a pair of homers by Jose Reyes.

In fact, Reyes is hitting .667 (8-for-12) in his career against Nolasco, while Wright is batting .615 (8-for-13) against him with a homer and three RBI.

The 25-year-old Nolasco has lost his last two outings, yielding a total of nine runs over 12 innings. That comes after a seven-start unbeaten streak (5-0) that saw him pitch to a 1.95 ERA. On the season, Nolasco is now 10-6 with a 3.99 ERA in 20 starts and two relief outings.

The Mets counter with John Maine, who is coming off his longest outing since an 8 1/3-inning effort back on May 7. On Wednesday, the right-hander limited the Phillies to three runs on six hits over seven innings, snapping a four- start winless drought (0-2).

Maine, who is 9-7 with a 4.20 ERA on the season, is 3-1 with a 2.84 ERA in five career starts versus the Marlins. Florida's Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla are hitting just a combined .222 (6-for-27) against Maine.

Uggla homered on Sunday versus the Cubs, while Mike Jacobs went deep twice, but it wasn't enough in a 9-6 setback to Chicago. Jacobs ended with five RBI, as Florida split a four-game set with the Cubs.