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

Juan Soto believes the Mets are “100 percent” a playoff team, but a postseason run looks iffy at best for the most expensive roster in the major leagues. Poor starting

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.

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.

This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo’s Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox. NEW YORK -- The sun was shining brightly