Toronto @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 29, 2014 ) NY Mets 0, Toronto 2

The New York Mets boast a young pitching staff that is the envy of most of major-league baseball. That staff will get its toughest test on Monday, when the Toronto Blue Jays and their major league-best offense visit for the start of a four-game, home-and-home interleague series.

The Blue Jays put up 31 runs in a three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox over the weekend and topped it off with a 13-5 victory on Sunday that pushed their winning streak to 11 straight. Toronto is averaging eight runs in that span and showed off the power up and down the lineup with home runs from the likes of Ryan Goins and Danny Valencia in Sunday’s triumph. The Mets took two of three from the Atlanta Braves over the weekend and are clinging to a half-game lead in the National League East. New York showcased its own offense with four home runs in Sunday’s 10-8 victory – its first double-digit scoring output in nearly a month.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, SNET (Toronto), SNY (New York)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays LH Mark Buehrle (7-4, 4.25 ERA) vs. Mets RH Noah Syndergaard (2-4, 4.15)

Buehrle is making his third straight start against an NL East team after allowing two runs and eight hits over six innings in a no-decision against Miami on Tuesday. The veteran scattered six hits in a shutout of the Washington Nationals in his previous turn. Buehrle has yet to earn a win against the Mets, owning a 0-3 record with a 4.39 ERA in four starts.

The Blue Jays will be getting their first look at Syndergaard, who started his career in the Toronto system before heading over to the Mets in the trade that brought R.A. Dickey to Canada. Syndergaard was on the wrong end of a no-hitter by San Francisco’s Chris Heston last week and has lost his last two starts. The 22-year-old surrendered a total of 11 runs and 20 hits in 10 innings against San Diego and San Francisco.

WALK-OFFS

1. Goins is 6-for-14 with nine RBIs and four runs scored in his last three games.

2. New York C and former member of the Blue Jays organization Travis d’Arnaud has hit safely in four straight games since coming off the disabled list and has five runs scored and four RBIs in that span.

3. Toronto SS and former Met Jose Reyes has hit safely in 11 straight games.

PREDICTION: Blue Jays 7, Mets 5