The Mets (59-60) dropped game two, 3-2, against the Giants (78-42) at Oracle Park on Tuesday night, falling below .500 for the first time since May 5th.

Marcus Stroman gave the club seven solid innings, but the offense could only muster two runs off of a Pete Alonso homer. As the team’s offensive struggles persist, they continue to slide further out of playoff contention after being in first place for a majority of the year. New York has lost five in a row for the first time this season, are now 4.5 games back in the National League East behind the surging Braves and Phillies, and sit 7.0 games out of the second Wild Card spot. (Box Score)

Stroman (8-12, 2.84 ERA) took the loss on Tuesday evening, despite allowing just three earned runs through seven frames. He gave up five hits, walked three, and struck out nine tossing 114 pitches.

Stroman gave up an early two-run homer to Tommy La Stella in the first, but quickly settled into his groove. He allowed a solo homer to Evan Longoria in the seventh to make it 3-0, but otherwise took care of business as usual on the mound. He also flashed his defense with the play of the game, robbing Brandon Belt‘s drag bunt attempt in the fourth inning. Aaron Loup took over in relief and worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning to keep the Mets within one.

The offense, on the other hand, struggled to provide any run support. The club’s first baserunner, Patrick Mazeika, reached via a leadoff walk in the third but was left stranded on second. Michael Conforto notched the Mets first hit of the evening for a double in the fourth, but nothing came of it.

Mazeika added a single in the seventh. New York showed a sign of rally in the eighth when a a leadoff single by Dominic Smith was followed by a Pete Alonso two-run bomb to make it a one-run game. It was Alonso’s 26th of the year.

The Mets threatened in the ninth with a leadoff single by Jeff McNeil, but they couldn’t complete the comeback. As the tying run, McNeil advanced to second on a groundout, but Kevin Pillar was called out on strikes to cap off the evening.

Despite the pitching staff allowing just three runs, the offense continued to fall flat. Mets’ batters went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and stranded six on base. They are 4-for-41 with runners in scoring position over the five-game losing streak.

New York looks to avoid the sweep in the final of the three-game series with the Giants tomorrow at 3:45 PM ET. Tylor Megill (1-2, 3.42 ERA) will face off with Anthony DeSclafani (11-5, 3.29ERA). In his last start against the Dodgers, Megill tossed five innings and allowed three runs on six hits, recording six strikeouts and a walk. DeSclafani earned the win in his last outing after allowing two runs on five hits through five against the Rockies. He added four strikeouts and walked two. Fans can catch the action at Oracle Park broadcasted on SNY, MLB Network, or WCBS 880.