One out away from sealing a 3-2 victory, Ryne Stanek allowed a single to Nolan Schanuel to put runners on first and second, setting up a confrontation he would have liked to avoid.

The stage was set for Mike Trout, who isn’t the player that won three MVPs anymore, but remains a threat. With runners in scoring position and two out, he entered Tuesday 10-f0r-17 this season. Maybe more on Stanek’s mind was Trout’s career numbers against him: 3-for-7, two homers.

“Yeah in that moment (pitching coach) Jeremy (Hefner) came to the mound, he had a great plan,” catcher Francisco Alvarez told SNY in a post-game interview on the field. “He told us exactly what we needed to do and we were able to get the out there.”

Stanek started Trout off with an 84 mph sweeper for a called strike. After missing with a fastball, he got Trout to swing at a 98 mph fastball running in on him. He popped it up on the infield, Pete Alonso made the catch, and Stanek had his second save in three days to the delight of the 43,055 fans at Citi Field.

For the third consecutive game, the Mets’ bullpen was a key to victory. On Tuesday, it was Rico Garcia, Reed Garrett and Stanek combining for 3 1/3 innings of scoreless, three-hit ball. The trio struck out five and walked none. In his own battle with Trout, Garcia struck him out with a runner on in the seventh.

In a 7-5 victory over the Angels on Monday, it was Kevin Herget, Chris Devenski, Huascar Brazobán, Brooks Raley and Edwin Díaz combining for six innings of one-run ball, holding down the fort so New York could mount comebacks from deficits of 4-0 and 5-2. The quintet struck out five and walked one.

Despite a Díaz hiccup on Sunday – he hit a batter to force in the tying run in the eighth inning – the ‘pen threw three innings of one-run ball to secure a 3-2 victory over the Reds.

A day after Herget threw 20 of 28 pitches for strikes to get seven big outs, he was optioned to the minor leagues, and Devenski was designated for assignment.

Garcia pitched twice for the Mets earlier this month before getting designated for assignment and picked up by the Yankees. He threw 2 2/3 innings for the Yanks last Friday before getting DFA’d again. The Mets claimed the 31-year-old off waivers on Monday, activated him on Tuesday and Garcia’s future with the Mets is uncertain, especially with the July 31 trade deadline looming.

For now, expect the bullpen churn to continue.

“Guys are going to walk through those doors,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We continue to give these guys opportunities. They’ll step up and it will continue to be that way.”