The New York Mets will try to bounce back after dropping two of three to the New York Yankees over the weekend and they'll get to do it against a Chicago Cubs squad that has dropped four straight and 16-of-22. Despite the tough series against their cross-town rivals, the Mets are in second place in the NL East, just 3.5 games behind the Washington Nationals.
The Cubs aren't just a team that has fallen on tough times, but rather a franchise in transition. Their record sits at an MLB-worst 24-48 and it's known around the league virtually every player can be had between now and the trading deadline.
Terry Collins' crew has 13 games before the All Star break and six of those are against the Cubs. Other than the three this week, they will wrap up the first half with three more against Chicago at Citi Field starting July 6.
Taking the ball for the Mets will be ace Johan Santana. Following his no-hitter on on June 1, Santana gave up 10 earned runs over his next two starts before returning to form with six scoreless innings last week against the Baltimore Orioles. Any lingering issues with his arm after tossing 134 pitches in the no-hitter seem to have passed.
Chicago counters with 25-year-old Travis Wood, fresh off his first victory of the year. He gave up just one run over six innings against the Chicago White Sox to bring his record to 1-3, though his ERA in June is just 2.92.
This is the matchup between the Mets and Cubs this season and Chicago won last year's season series 4-2.
You can catch all of the action Monday night locally on SNY on WFAN 660 with first pitch scheduled for 8:05 p.m.