Time is quickly ticking away on Mets' division hopes as Phillies shut them down

The magic was fleeting for the Mets this time around, and the club's chances of winning the National League East are following suit.

Nearly two weeks after the Mets belted four straight hits off Jhoan Duran to secure a walk-off win at home as part of a three-game sweep to move within four games in the division, they threatened against the Phillies closer once again.

Only this time after a Pete Alonso leaoff single and Mark Vientos one-out double had the Mets in business on Monday night, Duran blew a 101.9 mph fastball past Jeff McNeil and got Francisco Alvarez to fish for a knuckle curveball to dash the Mets' hopes in a 1-0 loss in front of 40,388 fans at Citizens Bank Park.

McNeil came close on a foul ball that shot narrowly foul down the first-base line before Alvarez swung through three straight pitches.

"He's pretty tough, but I thought Jeff put together a good at-bat there," Carlos Mendoza said. "Obviously, we didn't get the result. Alvy chased. The three pitches he chased, you could tell he was selling out for the fastball, and he never got one, so he made him chase and they got him there."

Mets' division hopes slipping away

The Mets' chances of claiming the NL East are becoming more and more remote by the day.

With Monday's loss, they are now eight games back of the Phillies with 18 games to play despite owning a 7-3 record over their Pennsylvanian rivals.

"We've been pretty inconsistent and we put ourselves in this position, which we're still right there," Mendoza said. "Obviously, the goal is to win the division, but we're eight back now. We got to keep going. We got to turn the page. We got to get ready for another game tomorrow and continue to get the job done."

The Mets (76-68) are now 3.5 games up on the Reds and the Giants for the final NL Wild Card spot. Since capping their sweep of the Phillies on Aug. 27, the Mets are now 4-7.

Missed opportunities plague Mets offense in loss

Aaron Nola remains one of the Phillies top pitchers for the better part of a decade, but he has been facing some of his deepest struggles this season.

A right ankle sprain and stress fracture in his rib had forced him to miss more than three months. On Monday, despite allowing 18 earned runs in his four starts since returning, Nola turned in one of his best starts of the season against his rivals.

The Mets were limited to three hits and two walks against Nola, who turned in six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts.

"He was on tonight. I thought the way he was moving the ball, changing speeds, some front-hip sinkers to lefties. He threw a couple of changeups. The breaking ball. Got ahead. The way he moved the ball and he used all of his pitches and kind of kept us off balance there."

The Mets had some big chances snuffed out by Nola. In the second inning, they had runners on the corners with two outs and Cedric Mullins waved at a knuckle curveball.

Mullins, who was acquired at the deadline has been struggling mightily going hitless in his last 26 at-bats.

"Rough start. Trying to find that adjustment that kind of gets me going," Mullins said. "Kind of felt like I had it at one point, just lost it somewhere along the way but going to keep working."

In the next inning, Alonso was left stranded at second base when Brandon Nimmo struck out looking.

Alonso's third-inning double stood up as the team's lone hit for the rest of the game as Nola's only other baserunner allowed was a walk to Baty. Mullins popped up a bunt attempt in the next at-bat and then Baty was picked off first base for the final out with Soto at bat.

Nolan McLean suffers loss in first rocky outing

Throughout his first five starts, Nolan McLean had encountered traffic and been able to come through unscathed.

On Monday night, McLean, who had been almost exclusively dominant in his other four outings, struggled to keep the Phillies off the bases. The 24-year-old righty's lone clean inning was a 1-2-3 first frame. From there, the Phillies were able to grind him down.

The Phillies jumped McLean in the bottom of the second inning, breaking through for three straight hits, including an RBI single by Nick Castellanos to take the lead. Singles by Harrison Bader, who picked up three htis, and Castellanos came on first-pitch sweepers.

"Once I noticed that they were looking for a quite a few sweepers, I was able to make that adjustment and mis a few more pitches in there, first pitch and get some expansion early as well," McLean said.

The outing proved McLean's fortitude. That was the only damage the Phillies could inflict despite racking up seven hits and three walks against the young Mets starter, who was battling a broken fingernail on his middle finger on his right hand.

"I thought he did a fine job. I thought he made pitches when needed and they were aggressive," Mendoza said. "They ran his pitch count, but I thought the way he used all of his pitches was really good."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets: Time quickly ticking on division hopes as Phillies grab shutout