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The direction of the final twists in a rollercoaster season for the New York Mets might be determined by the results of the MRI exam star shortstop Francisco Lindor is scheduled to undergo Monday.

The Mets will hope to have clarity on Lindor’s status by Monday night, when they open a pivotal three-game series against the visiting Washington Nationals in a battle of National League East rivals.

Left-hander Sean Manaea (11-5, 3.35 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against Nationals right-hander Jake Irvin (10-12, 4.19).

The Mets will begin their last homestand of the regular season after falling to the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1, in the rubber game of a three-game series Sunday afternoon. The Nationals hit the road for the final time after completing a three-game sweep of the Miami Marlins with a 4-3 victory.

The loss didn’t hurt the Mets (81-68) in the race for the final NL wild-card spot. New York remains tied with the Atlanta Braves, who gave up seven runs in the ninth inning late Sunday night in a 9-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both teams have 13 games left, including three in Atlanta next week.

But Lindor’s availability for the stretch run is in question after the NL Most Valuable Player candidate was limited to eight innings against the Phillies due to a sore back. Lindor exited in the seventh inning of Friday’s 11-3 win and sat out Saturday’s 6-4 loss — the first game he’s missed this season.

Lindor started Sunday and led the game off with a single but slowed up as he reached first base. He played shortstop in the bottom of the inning before being replaced by Luisangel Acuna in the second.

Lindor is batting .302 with 24 homers and 65 RBIs in 104 games since moving to the leadoff spot May 18 for the Mets, who were as many as 11 games under .500 in late May and early June. He said he has been playing through back discomfort for about two weeks.

“When you have back problems or a back injury, the back pretty much controls your whole body,” Lindor said, “Anything can make it be a little aggravated. That’s where I’m at right now.”

The Nationals (68-81) are one loss away from clinching their fifth straight losing season since winning the World Series in 2019. But Sunday’s win provided more evidence Washington’s rebuild is nearing its completion.

Eight of the players in the Nationals’ starting lineup Sunday are 26 years old or younger, including rookie James Wood, who had his first career two-homer game two days shy of his 22nd birthday. MacKenzie Gore, 25, earned the win by tossing six innings of two-hit ball.

“It’s gratifying to see them getting better every day,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “To see them doing the things that we think they can do and have success doing it, it’s awesome.”

Manaea didn’t factor into the decision Wednesday, when he gave up one run over 6 2/3 innings in the Mets’ 6-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. He is 1-1 with a 4.03 ERA in four career games (three starts) against the Nationals. The southpaw didn’t factor into the decision on July 2 after allowing two runs (one earned) over seven innings in New York’s 7-2, 10-inning win in Washington, D.C.

Irvin earned the win Wednesday after surrendering one run over six innings as the Nationals beat the Braves, 5-1. He is 1-2 with a 5.79 ERA in three starts against the Mets, including 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in two starts this season.

–Field Level Media