DOUBLE WHAMMY

Mets lose second in a row, but real pain comes when McNeil pulls up lame in 9th

Zack Wheeler, carrying a streak of 15 straight shutout innings, was roughed up for 12 hits and five runs in five innings as the Mets dropped the opener of their big series with the Braves, 5-3. But the bigger loss could be Jeff McNeil, who injured his hamstring as he tried to leg out a grounder in the ninth.

ATLANTA — The Braves have so much athleticism and talent, starting with leadoff slugger Ronald Acuna Jr., who wrecked the Mets on Tuesday night.

The Mets only have so much depth and talent, that is one of their biggest problems, and in the 5-3 defeat at SunTrust Park they lost their best hitter, Jeff McNeil, who left the game in the ninth inning with a left hamstring injury as he ran to first base.

This series was going to tell us much about the Mets and it already has with such a significant injury. The air is out of all the happy balloons the Mets created winning 15 of 17.

McNeil most certainly will be headed for an injured-list stint, and as the media left the clubhouse there was Mickey Callaway in his office, camped with his coaches, surely going over a plan on how to overcome this latest injury and come up with a new lineup with McNeil certain to be out of action.

Isn’t it Amazin’? When life looks good for the Mets, the other shoe always drops.

The Mets clubhouse, which has been so alive during their winning streak, was so somber. Players dressed quietly knowing that they cannot afford to lose McNeil.

It was nearly as quiet as the last time the Mets were here in June and lost the last two games of the series to the Braves, giving up 14 runs in those two games. The next day pitching coach Dave Eiland was fired.

Much has changed since then, but there is still a mountain to climb, and if the Mets are without their leadoff hitter McNeil for an extended period of time it will be a terrible blow to their wild-card dreams. McNeil will get an MRI Wednesday. “We have no timeline,’’ a dejected McNeil said. “We have to see where it feels in the morning. I think one of the reasons I reached [for the bag] was so I didn’t have to step with that leg. It wasn’t terrible. It was just a little snag.’’

Not terrible as falling on the ground writhing in pain.

McNeil immediately slammed his

helmet to the ground and gingerly walked off the field.

“It’s the same hamstring I felt earlier in the year,’’ he said. “I didn’t feel a pop with that one, so hopefully it’s nothing worse than that. … Hopefully it’s maybe a cramp that I felt. This sucks.’’

This loss dropped the Mets nine back of the Braves in the NL East. Against the three first-place teams and all the wild-card contenders not named the Nationals, the Mets are 15-33.

That is their reality, and it looks like McNeil will be down and out for a while.

Winning the division is just a fantasy. The Mets need to see if they can somehow gain a wild-card spot. With the loss they are two games back in the wild-card hunt.

A team that has little depth has no room for error and now it looks like recently signed Joe Panik will have a much more significant role at second, and Juan Lagares, who matched a career high with four hits, will be in center field.

Jed Lowrie is still missing in action for 2019. Hello, Ruben Tejada. There is no significant help coming over the hill.

Losing pitcher Zack Wheeler could not get it together in any way and allowed a fourth-inning home run to Acuna, his 34th, and 12 hits and five runs over five innings to raise his ERA to 4.36.

He spoke for the clubhouse when he said this about the McNeil situation: “It’s tough. He’s a huge part of this team. He brings fire every day to the field. He’s a ballplayer and you need those type of guys on your team and you need them in the lineup. It’s unfortunate that happened, hopefully it’s not too serious and he can get back decently quick. We need his bat, that’s for sure.’’ McNeil sets the tone for the Mets. Acuna sets the tone for the Braves. He is seeking to become the third player (Eddie Mathews and Mel Ott) in baseball history to hit 40 homers in a season prior to turning 22.

The athletic Braves have it all going. The Mets are hurting once again.