Jeff McNeil’s right shoulder has been barking for the past week, and Thursday the discomfort finally pushed him to the bench.

The Nationals scored three runs off Sean Manaea in the fifth (with an assist from trade deadline acquisition Tyler Rogers) in a game the Mets led 3-0. Rogers let up another run in the sixth, while Ryne Stanek got lit up for four runs in the eighth.

Kodai Senga couldn't provide quality length in the Mets' deflating road loss to the division-rival Nationals on Wednesday night.

It was all set up on Thursday for the Mets to win a second straight series rubber game, but somehow this underachieving bunch managed to flatline.

The Mets’ modest winning streak came to an end after just three games as Kodai Senga struggled against the Nationals tonight in D.C. and the team’s comeback effort came up short. Senga gave up two runs in each of the third and fourth innings to put the Mets down 4-0 early,