MLB

Mets ride Gee train into Subway showdown

Dillon Gee made it much easier yesterday for the Mets to use the word “excited” in conjunction with their upcoming Subway Series stop in The Bronx.

The rookie right-hander couldn’t end a Mets’ no-hit drought that now stands at 7,849 games since the franchise’s inception, but he accomplished just about everything else asked of him.

Gee helped extend the Mets’ shutout streak to 18 innings, flirted with a no-no into the sixth and took a 1-0 victory over the Nationals at Citi Field.

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PHOTOS: SUBWAY SERIES LEADERS

“We’re all excited about the excitement that goes with the Yankees-Mets series, and this is a good way to come in, back-to-back shutouts and pitching well,” manager Terry Collins said after the Mets’ sixth victory in eight games.

“We’ve got to create some offense, but it will be fun [tonight at Yankee Stadium] for sure.”

A day after Jonathon Niese and the Mets’ bullpen blanked Washington, the Gee train didn’t stop until it had motored 72⁄3 innings, allowing two hits and three walks. Livan Hernandez’s single with two outs in the sixth ended the no-hit watch.

Tim Byrdak got the last out in the eighth before the Mets received a gift in the ninth with Francisco Rodriguez pitching: Jayson Werth was called out at first base by umpire Phil Cuzzi, despite Werth appearing to beat third baseman Justin Turner’s throw, and despite first baseman Daniel Murphy’s foot being off the bag.

The Mets hope there will be no service interruptions when they ride the R&A trains tonight. But R.A. Dickey has been brutal lately, allowing 28 hits over 181⁄3 innings this month. Dickey (1-5, 5.08 ERA) has not won since his first start of the season.

“I think you’ll see a difference as we get deeper into the spring and summer and the temperatures start warming up, we get on more a routine,” Dickey said.

“There have been outings where I’ve felt really close and for whatever reason it didn’t work out, but I’m optimistic.”

The Mets got their lone run on Turner’s RBI single against Hernandez in the fourth. Gee (3-0) rebounded from an awful start at Houston on Friday in which he allowed four earned runs over five innings, turning in the best start by a Mets pitcher this season.

“The last couple of starts I haven’t felt that good and I kind of got away from being aggressive,” Gee said. “The whole mindset coming into this game was, go back to attacking hitters with all four pitches, and it worked out today.”

Rodriguez’s save was his 14th straight since blowing one to start the season. The right-hander has gone 18 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run.

The Mets (21-22) haven’t been .500 since beating the Nationals on April 9, and would love to get there tonight against the Yankees.

“You’ve got to get to .500 to get five games over and 10 games over, hopefully,” Murphy said.

Jason Bay, who played for the Red Sox in 2008 and ’09, was asked to compare Yankees-Red Sox with Mets-Yankees.

“When you go [to Yankee Stadium] with the Red Sox, everybody hates you,” Bay said. “When you go with the Mets, only most of the people hate you.”

How many wins for the Mets this weekend?

“Somewhere between zero and three,” Bay said. “That’s the last thing I need is Jason Bay sitting there [predicting].”

mpuma@nypost.com

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