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The New York Mets will try to turn things around and save their season Monday night when they open a three-game series against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field. The first-place Nationals took two-of-three from the Mets last week and are fresh off splitting a four-game set with the Atlanta Braves over the weekend.
While their opponent comfortably sits on top of the NL East, the Mets continue to play as if they never came back from the All-Star break. New York has lost three in a row and eight of night since the Fall Classic.
The latest crushing loss for Terry Collins and the Mets came on Sunday afternoon, when they fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-3, in 12 innings. That game featured yet another late-game rally to get the Mets back in the game, before the bullpen once again exploded, this time for five runs in the final inning.
Monday night's game will see a re-match of last Wednesday's showdown between veteran Chris Young for the Mets and Jordan Zimmerman for the Nationals. In the first matchup, Young was solid surrendering just two runs over six innings, but Zimmerman was better as he held the Mets scoreless over the same span.
With the New York bullpen still trying to recover from their heavy workload -- 17 innings over the weekend, including nearly five on Sunday -- Young will likely be asked to go as long as he surgically repaired shoulder will allow.
You can catch all the action locally on SNY or WFAN 660 with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m.