QUEENS, NY — Even on a night in which a Mets starter provided a rare semblance of length, the pitching faltered to continue New York's freefall.

After Kodai Senga allowed two runs in 5.2 innings of work, reliever Ryan Helsley squandered a 3-2 lead in the eighth, allowing two runs to score on back-to-back one-out RBI doubles from Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies, lifting the Atlanta Braves to a 4-3 victory in Thursday night's rubber game at Citi Field.

The Mets (64-57) have now lost 13 of their last 15 games, and missed on a chance to cut their divisional deficit behind the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies to four games after they lost to the Washington Nationals 3-2.

Albies accounted for three of the Braves' four runs, going 3-for-4 with a single, double, and solo home run.

The

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