"The Mets are quickly finding out that when you shop for bargains, there's usually a reason they're on sale.

They got a taste of that yesterday as their shoddy bullpen struggled again, surrendering six runs in a 7-3, 11-inning loss to the Nationals at Citi Field -- wasting a superb effort from starter Chris Young.

"It's been inconsistent," GM Sandy Alderson said of the bullpen following the loss. "That's probably as positive an adjective as I could use."

It was consistently bad yesterday.

D.J. Carrasco gave up a pair of runs in the eighth to blow a 3-1 lead, and then Blaine Boyer, after an easy 10th, collapsed and surrendered four runs an inning later.

"You've gotta convince them they gotta get beat making someone swing the bat," manager Terry Collins said after the Mets turned what looked to be a solid victory into an ugly defeat very quickly.

"This is the big leagues. You've gotta plant some pitches, and we're walking guys at too high a rate."

Carrasco walked one, Taylor Buchholz three.

The first culprit was Carrasco, who replaced Young to start the eighth. He immediately gave up a double to Ivan Rodriguez that right fielder Lucas Duda couldn't catch up to.

"It's on me," said Duda, who was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo after the game, though not because of that play.

"I took a bad route and got beat. I take full responsibility. It kind of cost us the game. It changed the momentum and was a terrible play."

Carrasco made things worse by walking pinch-hitter Matt Stairs. Washington soon tied the game with a bloop single by Ian Desmond and an RBI groundout by Rick Ankiel."