NEW YORK _ If the Mets truly want to earn one of the two NL wild-card bids, there is no better test of their resolve than facing the Dodgers with two weeks to go.
The two-time World Series runners-up are on pace to post the best record in the league and thereby host the winner of the Oct. 1 wild-card game.
In essence, the Mets can increase the likelihood of seeing Los Angeles again after this weekend's series at Citi Field _ with wins.
New York took a step backwards Friday night, bowing to Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers, 9-2, as the Noah Syndergaard/Wilson Ramos combo continued to fizzle.
The Mets dropped their ninth straight home game to L.A. dating back to May 28, 2016. They also dropped to three games behind the Cubs for the second wild-card spot after Chicago obliterated the Pirates, 17-8, earlier in the day.
New York's starting battery resulted in a second consecutive five-inning, four-run outing by Syndergaard (10-8). The right-hander had fired seven shutout innings when Rene Rivera caught his Sept. 2 start.
Things disintegrated in the fourth when four straight Dodgers reached base. One batter after A.J. Pollock tied it at 1 with an RBI single, Gavin Lux launched a three-run homer, his second in 10 big league games.
Meanwhile, Kershaw (13-5) gave up a solo home run to J.D. Davis, the second batter he faced, before settling in.
The Mets began a rally in the seventh to chase the left-hander after 6 1/3 but only trimmed one run off a 7-1 deficit.
Los Angeles recouped that immediately on Edwin Rios' pinch-hit, two-run homer that revealed just how many home fans had departed _ and how much the Dodger fans present could turn up the volume.
Kershaw was charged with two earned runs on four hits and, although not his dominant self of old, struck out five.
The Mets bullpen carried on as has been customary in 2019, allowing a manageable deficit to spiral out of reach. The big blasts on Friday were a pair of pinch hits: Chris Taylor's two-run double off Luis Avilan in a three-run seventh and Edwin Rios' two-run homer off Walker Lockett in the eighth.
"They have (a) great lineup, very good starting pitching, their bullpen has performed over the years � and we all know that's the formula," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said before the game.
"When we do those things, we win games as well. They've done it very, very consistently for a long period of time. And we've been doing it more consistently the second half."
The consistency lacked in this game, ending New York's win streak at four.
The Mets' next attempt to keep flickering postseason prospects alive comes in Saturday's duel of Cy Young hopefuls.
Jacob deGrom (9-8, 2.70 ERA), the 2018 award-winner, faces Los Angeles lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu (12-5, 2.45), whose ERA has jumped a full run over the past month.
