Washington – Woof.

It seemed like the Mets were all set to win their second consecutive series rubber game on Thursday. This team had been struggling quite a bit last month, but somehow they managed to find a little rhythm.

However, both their starting and relief pitching was loose, to say the least.

As for the bats, they looked ready to break out—but, well, that didn’t happen. Despite their efforts, they fought hard, but the postseason aspirations seem distant now.

The Mets led for most of the game, holding onto a lead until the fifth inning, but they ended up losing 9-3 at Nationals Park.

Now, their deficit against the first-place Phillies has swelled to seven games.

Last weekend, they had a glimpse of success, winning two out of three games against the Mariners.

Next, they head to Atlanta for a rematch against a team that recently took two out of three from them at Citi Field.

Sean Manaea looked like he had something going at first, but he faltered midway through, landing him in a tough spot by the fifth inning.

All in all, he gave up four runs on three hits and a hit batter across 4²/₃ innings, throwing 91 pitches before being pulled.

On a positive note, Francisco Lindor led off with a home run, setting a franchise record in the process—his eighth leadoff homer of the season, breaking the previous record he shared with Curtis Granderson.

Sterling Marte also contributed, smashing a homer in the third inning to give the Mets a brief 2-0 lead. That was his seventh of the season and third in just the past seven games.

In the fourth, the Mets loaded the bases against McKenzie Gore, and Hayden Senger delivered a sacrifice fly for his first career RBI. Brett Batty and Cedric Mullins also collected singles, sandwiched around a walk to Tyrone Taylor.

Unfortunately, Manaea allowed a fourth run when Dylan Crews hit an RBI groundout.

The Nationals started to threaten after Andres Chaparo’s singles came following a strikeout and wild pitch from CJ Abrams. Manaea managed to load the bases but got out of the jam by retiring the next three batters.

Gore struggled, getting pulled after walking Marte and Pete Alonso back-to-back.

Then Jackson Rutledge came in and struck out Mark Vientos while hitting Batty.

Manaea stumbled in the fifth, allowing another three runs after Alonso threw a second ball away. Jacob Young reached first on a grounder, and a sacrifice fly from Paul DeJohn brought the Mets’ lead down to 3-2.

Chaparo walked to reload the bases, and Tyler Rogers then entered to pitch, allowing Adams a single that tied the game and let another run score.

Young’s RBI single off Rogers extended the Nationals’ lead to 5-3. Daylen Lile joined the action with a single and a stolen base while Young managed to snag two runs as he reached third on a diving attempt by Mullins.

Ryne Stanek came in but had a rough outing, giving up four runs in the eighth. He allowed House to deliver an RBI single before James Wood hit a three-run homer, sealing the Mets’ fate.