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Let the good times stop.
There are bad losses and there are terrible losses. Mark yesterday’s 3-2 defeat to the Dodgers at Citi Field as one terrible loss for the Mets.
The Mets were coming off a huge win on Wednesday night, sparked by David Wright’s game-tying single in the ninth and Jordany Valdespin’s game-winning grand slam in the 10th, making them 5-0 in games started by Marvelous Matt Harvey.
In all other games, the Mets are 5-10. That tells you all you need to know about this team.
The Mets were shut down by Dodgers rookie left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu, offering a glimpse of what kind of season it may become if the Mets don’t get their offensive act together.
The Mets wasted an excellent effort from Jeremy Hefner, who had come into the day with an 0-2 record and a 7.07 ERA. It was an opportunity wasted.
The Dodgers scored twice in the ninth against reliever Scott Rice, a 14-year minor league pitcher who finally has his chance in The Show this season.
Most disturbing is the slump that has engulfed Ike Davis again in the early part of this season. Davis did line a ninth-inning solo home run off Brandon League. The Mets are hopeful that rocket will get him going. The offense desperately needs Davis, because there is not much there to start with. Much is on his shoulders.
Davis, who was dropped to sixth in the order by manager Terry Collins, has moved closer to the plate in an effort to get going. Prior to the home run, he bounced back to the pitcher and struck out swinging twice. If Davis continues to struggle, the Mets have no chance.
You can’t drop him much lower, and perhaps if this continues the Mets may consider sending Davis down to Triple-A to get his swing together. Something has to give.
Davis is 4-for-23 with runners in scoring position. and is batting .174 overall. He has provided four home runs but just seven RBIs.
“I don’t like letting the team down a lot like I have,’’ Davis said at his locker, long after the game had ended. “That’s just the way it goes sometimes. I guarantee that one of these next couple of months that I am actually going to help the team win a lot of games.”
Collins offered these comments about Davis’ woes:
“They are just killing him away, so we’ve tried to get him where he covers the outside part of the plate. … I think [Wednesday] night, the two balls he hit to left field were a start.
“When Ike is going good he gets hits, he doesn’t just get home runs,’’ Collins added. Davis has just 12 hits — four home runs and eight singles.
The day after his big hit, the lefty-hitting Valdespin did not start against the lefty Ryu and came on as a pinch-hitter in the ninth. He struck out. The Mets are 3-6 against left-handed starters and are 1-4 in one-run games.
It was a tough day all around for the Mets hitters, who were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and are hitting .161 with RISP over the past four games.
Wright struck out in the eighth off reliever Kenley Jansen after Ruben Tejada started the inning with a single and Daniel Murphy walked. Lucas Duda flied out and Marlon Byrd, who is hitting .246, struck out for the ninth consecutive game. Rice gave up the two runs and the Mets were cooked.
Good times no more.
kevin.kernan@nypost.com