NEW YORK _ Seth Lugo and the Mets may have given away their final chance.
Lugo gave up the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning on Sunday, ending a string of 14 scoreless innings and perhaps his team's bid for a playoff spot.
Jedd Gyorko hit an RBI single off Lugo to lift Los Angeles to a 3-2 win over New York on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball.
This was a game the Mets absolutely needed, and one they should have had at Citi Field.
The Mets (77-72) fell to four games out of a wild-card spot with 13 games to play. They didn't get any help on the out of town scoreboard with the Nationals, Cubs and Brewers all holding serve.
Two batters after allowing a double to Kike Hernandez, Lugo grooved a fastball down the middle to Gyorko, who smacked a line drive to center.
In the bottom of the inning, Joe Panik struck out to end the game with a runner on first.
The Mets scored a pair of runs on a Brandon Nimmo triple in the second inning. He won a 10-pitch battle with starter Walker Buehler, lacing a shot down the line to put his team ahead.
That lead would last until the eighth inning when Justin Wilson came in for the second straight game. Wilson issued a leadoff walk, balked the runner to second and then threw a wild pitch. Dodger utility man Chris Taylor made him pay with a double to deep right, scoring Jedd Gyorko with one out. Wilson had been one of the few dependable arms out of the bullpen with a 2.31 ERA heading into the game.
This was a series that came at the wrong time for the Mets.
The Dodgers are well on their way to another 100-win season and hope to return to the World Series for the third straight year. They sent out all three aces in Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jim Ryu and Buehler.
Zack Wheeler lived up to the challenge in one of the biggest starts of his Met career.
The right-hander gave up one run over seven innings, while striking out nine. It was his fourth straight start in which he allowed only a run. The Mets are now 7-3 in Wheeler's last 10 starts.
Wheeler quickly moved through the Dodger order, facing the minimum through two innings. He ran into trouble in the fourth � when Corey Seager singled in a run � but regrouped for the rest of the way. It's the type of outing that the Mets have come to expect from Wheeler since the All-Star break.
A turning point for Wheeler came in the top of the sixth inning when Joc Pederson ripped a leadoff double to the gap in right-center and represented the tying run. That brought up the 2-3-4 hitters in Max Muncy, Chris Taylor and Cody Bellinger, a potential MVP candidate. Wheeler got all three to strike out swinging. He fought out of trouble again in the next inning when he worked around a leadoff single.
The Mets will hit the road for three games in Colorado and another three in Cincinnati.
