Despite this skid, the Mets still sit atop the National League East, owning a 2.5 game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies. As the Mets look to turn things around, they could use increased production from one player in particular.

NEW YORK — Shane Baz had lots of reasons to smile after Sunday’s outing in which he used his high-octane fastball and a good mix of his curve, changeup and reworked slider/cutter to hold the Mets to three hits while working into the seventh inning.

Shane Baz se combinó con tres relevistas para permitir solo cinco hits, y los Rays de Tampa Bay blanquearon el domingo 9-0 a Nueva York para completar la primera serie

Takeaways from Sunday's game between the Mets and Rays, a 9-0 loss in which right-hander Griffin Canning regressed and Tampa Bay's pitching blanked New York's offense.

After Sunday’s miserable 9-0 loss to the Rays marked their first time getting swept all year, the Mets are finally facing something resembling adversity.

The Rays cobbled together a big inning for the second straight game, scoring five runs in the fourth to beat the Mets again, this time 8-4. Shortstop Taylor Walls had a big role in the win, delivering two doubles and dropping a squeeze bunt in the middle of the fourth-inning outburst.

They haven't been the prettiest of games, but the Tampa Bay Rays have rolled into New York and beaten the Mets — one of the top teams in baseball and

Following a roughly 50-minute long rain delay, the Mets took the field on a day that felt more like mid-April than mid-June at Citi Field. Things got off to an inauspicious start, as Megill hit the leadoff hitter Josh Lowe on a pitch that bounced in the dirt before connecting with him.