(Photo credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images)

The New York Mets were 10 outs away Sunday from completing a rare road sweep of the Atlanta Braves, maintaining their lead in the race for the final National League wild-card spot and arriving home with plenty of momentum for a pivotal division series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

But a late stumble against the Braves served as a reminder of the Mets' inconsistency over the past two-plus months and the precarious nature of their position in the playoff race.

The Mets will look to get back on track Monday night, when they host the Phillies in the opener of a three-game series between the longtime NL East rivals.

Right-hander Kodai Senga (7-5, 2.58 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sanchez (11-4, 2.46).

The Mets missed a chance to sweep the Braves on Sunday afternoon when Atlanta scored twice apiece in the sixth and eighth inning to earn a 4-3 win. The host Phillies, meanwhile, withstood a late rally by the Washington Nationals to record a 3-2 victory in the rubber game Sunday of a three-game series.

The loss to Atlanta was doubly damaging for the Mets, who fell a season-high seven games behind the first-place Phillies in the NL East while their lead over the Cincinnati Reds in the race for the third wild-card spot was reduced to 1 1/2 games.

The Mets, who finished 5-8 this season against the Braves and haven't swept their rivals in Atlanta since 2016, allowed all four runs with two outs -- a symbol of New York's struggles to put all facets of the game together since June 13.

The Mets, who led the majors with a 45-24 record through June 12, are 24-37 since -- tied for the fifth-worst record in the game, ahead of only the last-place Nationals and Colorado Rockies as well as the San Francisco Giants and Minnesota Twins. New York is tied for futility over that span with the Chicago White Sox, last in the American League Central.

'We didn't get the job done,' Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. 'You've got to be able to finish games. The little things we're not doing right now continue to add up.'

The math is growing more favorable for the Phillies, who were 5 1/2 games behind the Mets through June 12 but have gone 37-25 since June 13 -- the second-best record in the NL behind only the Milwaukee Brewers (44-17). Philadelphia, which is aiming for its second straight NL East crown, is 2 1/2 games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, the co-NL West leaders, in the race for the second playoff bye.

But the Phillies know how fast things can change. The Mets finished six games behind Philadelphia and earned the final wild card last season before upsetting the division champs in a four-game NL Division Series.

In addition, New York swept the Phillies at Citi Field in April, though Philadelphia took two of three games in June. The teams are scheduled to meet again for a four-game set in Pennsylvania from Sept. 8-11.

'It can go the other way, too,' Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. 'So we've got to pay attention.'

Senga took the loss in his most recent start on Wednesday, when he allowed five runs (four earned) over five innings as the Mets fell to the host Nationals 5-4.

Sanchez didn't factor into the decision Tuesday after giving up two runs over 6 1/3 innings in the Phillies' 6-4 home win over the Seattle Mariners.

Senga is 1-1 with a 1.46 ERA in 12 1/3 innings over two career regular-season starts against the Phillies. He didn't factor into the decision in Game 1 of the NLDS last Oct. 5, when he allowed one run over two innings as an opener in the Mets' 6-2 win.

Sanchez is 2-3 with a 3.89 ERA in 39 1/3 innings over 10 regular-season games (seven starts) against the Mets. He also didn't factor into the decision as the starter in Game 2 of the NLDS last Oct. 6, when he gave up two runs over five innings in the Phillies' 7-6 victory.

--Field Level Media