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Roy Oswalt allowed four singles and was two outs from a shutout on Monday as the Astros won their sixth in a row.

Brandon Backe was sharp into the seventh, leading the host Houston Astros beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2, on Thursday.

After leading 3-0 and later 4-3, Aaron Heilman and then Pedro Feliciano failed the Mets in a 6-4 defeat against the Houston Astros in 10 innings on Sunday afternoon.

In five and two-thirds innings, John Maine allowed eight runs on 10 hits (two of them home runs) while throwing 105 pitches.

Friday’s victory — the Mets’ fourth in succession and 10th in 11 games — featured the return from the disabled list of Ryan Church, who was with the Nationals last season.

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.

Ryan Church, on the disabled list with postconcussion symptoms, could be back in right field Friday when the Mets open a series with the Houston Astros.

Lance Berkman hit a grand slam in an eight-run seventh inning Tuesday night leading the Astros to victory.

A lack of clutch hitting, a stumble in the outfield and a base-running blunder contributed to the growing malaise for the Mets on Sunday.

The Mets’ bullpen squandered another excellent starting performance by Johan Santana and are now in third place in the National League East.