By this point, the clutch hits and situational magic from the Mets’ first two rounds of the playoffs had all but faded.
By the time Jesse Winker strolled to the plate in the sixth inning Thursday as a pinch-hitter and as the Mets’ third — and final — chance not to leave the bases loaded, a strength had unraveled into a glaring weakness.
And his harmless fly out marked another wasted chance by the Mets with runners in scoring position during their 10-2 loss to the Dodgers in Game 4 of the NLCS.
Through these four games, they’ve gone 4-for-27 with runners in scoring position.
The Mets produced baserunners against Los Angeles ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
They, again, had chances to shift the trajectory of the game — and maybe even the series — with the one swing that had shifted games and series throughout their unexpected postseason run.
Instead, the Mets’ sputtering in critical spots has threatened their season.
As early as the third inning, the Mets generated traffic against Yamamoto.
Francisco Alvarez, who entered the night with a brutal postseason average of .143, led off the frame with a single, and that allowed the Mets eventually to load the bases with one out.
But Brandon Nimmo grounded into a fielder’s choice and barely beat out the throw to prevent an inning-ending double play.
Starling Marte couldn’t get a second run across as the next hitter, either.
Then, those woes with runners on base surfaced again three frames later.
A single, an infield hit and a walk loaded the bases with no outs.
After Jose Iglesias struck out, manager Carlos Mendoza used the two left-handed options on his bench.
Dave Roberts made his bullpen move, too.
But Jeff McNeil flew out to center — not deep enough for Nimmo to tag and score — and Winker lifted his ball to right field, well short of the towering blast he launched and admired for an extra few seconds in Game 3 of the NLDS.
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At that stage of the postseason — and really up until the Dodgers blanked them in Game 1 on Sunday — the Mets’ ability to connect on timely hits remained a part of their postseason identity.
They didn’t homer in the NL Wild Card Series until Pete Alonso saved their season in Game 3.
But they went 5-for-7 with runners in scoring position to snag a Game 1 win and build the foundation for Alonso’s heroics two nights later.
All but three of the Mets’ runs in the NLCS have come via the home run, though.
Three of their four games against have ended without a hit while having a runner in scoring position.
And they might only have nine innings’ worth of at-bats left to figure out a solution.