SEATTLE — Jon Niese resembled somebody who hadn’t pitched in two weeks, but still managed to keep the Mets in Monday’s game.
The only problem was, the Mets weren’t scoring again. A team that sizzled offensively heading into the All-Star break has cooled over the last three games, muting any discussion for now that involves the Mets closing the gap in the NL East.
After getting shut out by the Padres on Saturday and nearly no-hit a day later, the Mets fell 5-2 to the Mariners at Safeco Field for a third straight loss.
Niese, who had spent the last two weeks on the disabled list with a left shoulder strain, pitched six innings and allowed four runs on 11 hits with six strikeouts and two walks. It snapped the lefty’s streak of 21 starts, dating to Sept. 13 of last season, in which he had allowed three runs or fewer.
“I left a lot of balls over the plate,” Niese said. “I was itching to get back. I might have been too excited today.”
The Mets (46-53) have scored three runs total in their last three games. In their previous 11 games — in which they were 9-2 — the Mets averaged 5.4 runs.
Niese (5-5) was back after taking a midsummer vacation for the second straight year with shoulder soreness. Last year, Niese missed seven weeks. His stay on the DL this time was two weeks.
“We’re trying to investigate all that stuff,” manager Terry Collins said before the game. “We’re taking a look at his throwing program, sides, workload, to see if we can head this off.”
Niese underwent two MRI exams that were negative in spring training, convincing the Mets there is no serious issue. Last year, Niese was diagnosed with a partially torn rotator cuff, but was cleared to resume pitching after an extended rest.
“We’ve been down this road last year and he finished the second half outstanding,” Collins said. “We’re hoping we replicate that same thing with some time off, some rest, strengthening exercises, some of the things that he did in the last two weeks, that it pays off in the next two months.”
For the fourth straight game since the All-Star break, the Mets did not hit a home run.
The closest the Mets came to ending the drought was in the sixth, when Dustin Ackley reached over the left-field fence and made a leaping grab to deprive Travis d’Arnaud of his seventh home run.
“It was a great catch, an exciting play,” d’Arnaud said. “When he came down, I saw something white in his glove, so I figured he caught it.”
Though they trailed 4-1 at the time, Ackley’s catch stung the Mets.
“That ball goes out of the park, that might change a lot,” Collins said. “That might change the momentum completely.”
Ackley’s RBI double in the eighth against Daisuke Matsuzaka scored the Mariners’ final run.
Willie Bloomquist’s RBI double in the fourth extended the Mariners’ lead to 4-1 and pushed Niese past the three-run mark. But considering nine runners had reached base for the Mariners to that point, Niese was fortunate the deficit wasn’t greater.
David Wright, celebrating the 10th anniversary of his major league debut, stroked an RBI single against Roenis Elias in the third that sliced the Mets’ deficit to 3-1.
In the third, Niese surrendered four hits — including a mammoth home run to Mike Zunino leading off the inning — but escaped with only two runs scoring. After Kyle Seager delivered an RBI single, Stefen Romero hit into a double play to end the inning.
Seager’s RBI single in the first inning gave the Mariners their first run.