NEW YORK -- For nearly six months, almost the duration of an entire Major League Baseball regular season, the New York Mets occupied a spot in the National League playoff picture. That changed Sunday after a brutal loss that concluded an ugly weekend and prolonged a baffling three-plus-month swoon with a week remaining on their schedule.

The Mets' 3-2 loss to the last-place Washington Nationals at Citi Field -- a sloppy, toothless showing cemented with two jaw-dropping catches by Nationals center fielder Jacob Young -- combined with the Cincinnati Reds' 1-0 win over the Chicago Cubs dropped them from postseason position for the first time since April 5 when their season was eight games old.

"It's the way it's gone," Mets left fielder Brandon Nimmo said. "I can believe it becaus

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