WASHINGTON — If there was any momentum from the New York Mets‘ Subway Series win over the weekend, it probably went out the window somewhere on the Beltway. Facing an NL East team for only the second time this season, the first game of a four-game series against the Washington Nationals lacked excitement and had all the energy of a legislative procedural meeting.

When the crowds are sparse on a Monday night for a rebuilding team, a lack of atmosphere is to be expected. There were no signs of a hangover from the weekend theatrics from the Mets, but there were signs of a taxed bullpen when the Nationals were able to tie the game twice, pushing it into 12 innings.

But tied 6-6 in the top of the 12th, the Mets exploded for 10 runs to win 16-7 at Nationals Park. They chased right-hander Paxton Schultz (0-1) from the game, and the Nats (23-25) waived the white flag by putting a position player on the mound. One day after walking the Yankees off for a series win, the Mets came through in the clutch once again, winning their seventh game in eight tries.

Brett Baty came through with the key hit, a two-run single off Schultz, before Marcus Semien and A.J. Ewing both hit RBI singles to keep the inning going. The Mets (21-26) batted around then some, sending four more hitters to the plate before the third out was finally recorded.

There was more than enough breathing room for right-hander Craig Kimbrel in the bottom of the frame.

Left-hander Brooks Raley gave up a run in the bottom of the seventh and faced heavy traffic on the basepaths. Right-hander Tobias Myers helped Raley get out of the seventh, but then gave up the tying run in the eighth. The Mets pushed the automatic runner across the plate to take a lead in the top of the 10th, but Washington came right back to tie again against right-hander Huascar Brazobán (3-1) in his second inning of work.

This came after a shaky start by right-hander Christian Scott, who was charged with three earned runs over four innings. Three walks and a hit batter hurt him early.

The Mets went up 1-0 in the top of the second, fell behind 2-1 in the bottom of the inning, then 3-1. Baty (2 for 6, three RBI) led off the fourth with a long shot to center field off left-hander Jake Irvin, bringing the Mets back to within one. They took advantage of errors and deep fly balls in the fifth, putting two on with one out for Juan Soto, who drove in two on a single off left-hander PJ Poulin.

Bo Bichette homered off left-hander Mitchell Parker in the seventh, his first extra-base hit since April 28. It gave the Mets a 5-3 lead, but the Nats weren’t done.

They put heavy traffic on the basepaths in the seventh and eighth, cashing in twice to even the score at 5-5. They had two on against right-hander Luke Weaver in the ninth, and the bases were loaded on Brazobán in the ninth before a big out at the plate helped the right-hander get out of the inning unscathed.

Tied at 6-6 with runners on second and third in the 11th, Brazobán got out of the inning with the game tied.

Two road series against the Nats and the Miami Marlins might not be the most exciting part of the schedule, but that might be exactly what the Mets need right now. The spotlight is off of them in their own city, with the Knicks set to begin play Tuesday in the Eastern Conference finals.

For some reason, the Mets tend to play their best baseball when no one expects. They can fly under the radar and pick up some much-needed wins against two bad divisional teams this week.

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