Fielding by Murphy, Duda not too glove-ly

THE METS knew they’d probably sacrifice some defense this season by starting Daniel Murphy at second base and Lucas Duda in right field.

And they saw how much it could hurt in the sloppy sixth inning Tuesday night that broke open their 6-2 loss to the Nationals at Citi Field.

Murphy muffed a grounder, allowing a run to score, and Wilson Ramos slugged a double over Duda, a drive that appeared to be catchable, to drive in another. Those misplays, coupled with a stagnant offense against Washington starter Ross Detwiler, helped doom the Mets’ perfect start.

“The ground ball to Murphy, a ball to his right, I couldn’t tell from my angle if he got caught between the backhand and the forehand,” Terry Collins said. “The ball to Duda, I think when he got close to the fence, he didn’t know whether he had to leave his feet to catch the ball or where he was.

“It’s all a matter of staying out there and being out there and getting used to it, having Lucas get used to being near the fences. As much as you want to practice it during spring training, you cannot re-enact the energy of the game, the speed of the game. You just cannot practice it.

“With every situation, they’ll improve and get better.”

Without Ike Davis and David Wright in the lineup, the Mets had only seven hits — three by Ronny Cedeño — and were just 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position for the second straight game. The Mets are 9-for-48 (.188) with RISP overall.

“That changes some things, as you guys saw,” Collins said about his lineup without Davis and Wright.

Jason Bay who was 1-for-4 with a double and is batting .188, was booed after fouling out in the first inning and striking out in the fourth.

Starter Dillon Gee (0-1), meanwhile, allowed four runs (three earned) and eight hits in 51/ innings, striking out six and

3 walking one. He gave up a leadoff homer to Ian Desmond, the second leadoff homer the Washington shortstop has hit off Gee in his career.