Series preview: Mets at Dodgers

METS (16-13, 2nd place/NL East) at DODGERS (17-14, 2nd place/NL West) Monday: LHP Oliver Perez (2-2, 4.03) vs. RHP Chad Billingsley (1-4, 5.20), 10:10 p.m. (SNY, WFAN, WADO) Tuesday: RHP Nelson Figueroa (2-1, 4.08) vs. RHP Hiroki Kuroda (1-2, 3.82), 10:10 p.m. (SNY, WFAN, WADO) Wednesday: RHP John Maine (3-2, 3.48) vs. RHP Brad Penny (5-2, 3.19), 3:10 p.m. (SNY, WFAN, WADO) *** Dodgers short hops: Joe Torre’s crew lost an eight-game winning streak Sunday when Colorado won, 7-2, in Denver. L.A. had averaged 8.8 runs per game during its surge. Derek Lowe needed 43 pitches just to get the game’s first out. … Signing Andruw Jones to a two-year, $36 million deal isn’t looking too swift right now with the former Brave’s weight up and batting average down to .163. It looks even worse when considering the L.A.-Angels-of-Anaheim-of-North-California’s signing of Torii Hunter to a five-year, $90 million deal. Hunter is hitting .314 with ... [link]