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The Mets’ offense looked more than ready on Wednesday to give the team a much-needed series win. They scored eight runs, had 10 hits, and chased one of the AL’s top starting pitchers, Cristian Javier after only 2 1/3 innings. And, the team could have had even more runs had they not squandered a golden opportunity with the bases loaded and no one out in the first.

Still, their eight runs ultimately mean nothing, as they lost, yet again, 10-8 to the Astros. The loss marks the teams’ 13th loss in 18 games this month, dropping them to 34-40 on the season. They have not won a series since sweeping the Phillies from May 30-June 1.

Unbelievably, Wednesday marked the seventh time this season the Mets have lost a game when scoring at least seven runs.

Just within the last two weeks, the Mets have lost games with the final scores of 10-8, 13-10, 14-7, and 8-7. While their offense has been inconsistent, they can hardly get the lions’ share of the blame in games when they are putting up more runs more than the highest-scoring team in the majors (the Rangers) averages on a per-game basis.

Instead, Mets’ pitching has been unable to capitalize on these golden opportunities. Time and time again, the Mets’ starting rotation and bullpen lets teams back into games that they should be comfortably ahead in. Or, they can’t keep the game close enough as the Mets’ bats try to fight their way back into the game and pull off a comeback.

On Wednesday, the culprits were Tylor Megill, who had no command and was unable to hold a 4-2 lead the team gave him in the third inning, and Dominic Leone, who gave up four earned runs on the day and saw a 6-6 tie game turn into a 9-6 deficit by the time he was pulled. Despite multi-hit days from Starling Marte, Daniel Vogelbach, and Pete Alonso (including his 23rd homer of the year), the lineup walked away with nothing more than padded stats.

If the Mets want to make any sort of run at getting back into contention, these are simply games they have to win. Their lineup has been up and down, so when they break out, the pitching needs to do their part. No lead feels safe with the Mets’ pitching staff at the moment, and they have no one, outside of maybe David Robertson, that feels reliable on a day-in and day-out basis.

Between starting pitchers being unable to lock in, relief arms giving up runs and bunches, Buck Showalter making some questionable decisions with his bullpen in several games, and Billy Eppler and the front office failing to supply enough high-quality players, there is plenty of blame to go around.

Regardless, it’s a problem that needs to be fixed one way or another if the Mets want to salvage what has been a miserable season up to this point. After another dispiriting loss on Wednesday, the team will once again leave a series wondering what could have been.