Mets battle injuries, drop 6th in row

NEW YORK — In a series of setbacks Thursday, theMets lost slugger Yoenis Cespedes to a strained hamstring thatwill send him to the disabled list, scratched Noah Syndergaard because of biceps and shoulder discomfort and watched substitute starter MattHarvey get clobbered.

Their 7-5 loss to theBraveswas their sixth straight and 10th in 11 games. On their longest skid since June 2015, manager Terry Collins felt some urgency.

“We can no longer sit back and say, ‘Hey, look, you know what: It’s ugly weather. We got some guys hurt.’ No one cares,” Collins said. “They’ve got to care. They’ve got to play with some energy and get this thing going.”

After limping into second on a double, Cespedes hobbled toward the dugout. He made it alone only to the first-base line, thenwas helped off. Collins said a DLstintwas certain.

Syndergaard had been scheduled for the homestand finale but sat out as “a precautionary thing” due to the discomfort.

Harvey (2-1), not expecting to pitch, had worked out hard with weights Wednesday. He walked three in an inning for the first time in his big-league career in the second, when Jace Peterson singled in a run and R.A. Dickey (2-2) hit a run-scoring grounder.

Adonis Garcia singled leading off the fifth and scored on Freddie Freeman’s double. His velocity down, Harvey intentionally walked Nick Markakis to pitch to Kurt Suzuki, who hit his first home run, a three-run drive.

Harvey allowed six runs on five hits in 41⁄ innings, tying a career high with fivewalks.

Jose Reyes homered and had an RBI single, raising his average from .114 to .137.

“We don’t have no energy out there,” Reyes said. “When you have that attitude, that’s bad.”