CINCINNATI — Third baseman Edwin Encarnacion hit one of Cincinnati’s three homers off Mike Pelfrey, then made a throwing error in the 10th inning that helped the Mets rally for a 7-5 victory yesterday and a split of their four-game series.

The Mets have won 11 of their last 13 games, salvaging their season one month after they fired manager Willie Randolph. The latest victory left them in a first-place tie with Philadelphia in the NL East heading into their three-game series at Shea Stadium that starts tomorrow.

New York needed some help to pull it out. Encarnacion provided it with his team-leading 16th error.

Robinson Cancel opened the 10th with a double off Bill Bray (2-1), his first extra-base hit in the majors since 1999 with Milwaukee. Jose Reyes then bunted for a single, his fourth hit of the game.

Argenis Reyes then grounded to Encarnacion, who looked Cancel back to third and then tried to start a double play. Instead, he threw the ball into center field, letting in the go-ahead run.

Carlos Delgado finished the rally with a sacrifice fly. Delgado also had three hits and a walk, extending his month-long surge. The first baseman is batting .419 in July.

Duaner Sanchez (5-1) got the victory with two innings in relief of Pelfrey. Billy Wagner got the last three outs for his 24th save in 30 chances.

Cincinnati’s all-or-nothing offense got the best of Pelfrey, who had won his last six starts and hadn’t allowed a run in 16 innings. Adam Dunn ended that streak at 17 innings when he led off the second inning with a homer. Seven of Dunn’s last eight hits have been homers.

Encarnacion and Brandon Phillips also had solo shots off Pelfrey, who had given up only four homers all season before coming to one of the majors’ most homer-prone ballparks.

The Mets failed to take full advantage of an off-day by Cincinnati’s Edinson Volquez. The right-hander was coming off his first All-Star appearance, and couldn’t get his pitches to go where he wanted.

He gave up a two-run shot by Ramon Castro in the third inning. It was the sixth homer Volquez has allowed this season, and only the second at Great American Ball Park.

The Mets had a chance to get Volquez in deep trouble at the outset, but couldn’t. For the second straight game, the Mets turned wasteful.

They got ahead of Volquez on Carlos Beltran’s run-scoring single in the first inning, then went on to load the bases with one out. Marlon Anderson fouled out, and Castro flied out to end the threat.