The Mets committed three errors which led to a pair of unearned runs that proved to be the difference in their seventh consecutive loss, 6-4, to the Pirates on Monday night at Citi Field.

For a full box score of the game, click here.

Things you should know about tonight's game...

1) Seth Lugo needed 99 pitches to complete five innings and was betrayed by a pair of Luis Guillorme errors that directly led to a pair of unearned runs. The right-hander was charged with three runs -- one earned -- on four hits and three walks with four strikeouts. Lugo (2-3) has lost three consecutive starts.

2) Held to one hit through five innings and trailing, 5-0, the Mets broke through off Jameson Taillon with consecutive doubles by Jose Reyes and Kevin Plawecki to begin the seventh. Guillorme walked against Bucs reliever Tyler Glasnow and Wilmer Flores followed with a pinch-hit three-run homer to cut the Pirates' lead to 5-4. Reyes had two of New York's six hits while Asdrubal Cabrera singled and walked.

3) Tyler Bashlor made his Major League debut in relief of Lugo and allowed a two-run homer to Josh Bell in the sixth. He retired the side in order in the seventh.

Michael Avallone, SNY.tv | Twitter |

We can now add poor defense to the ever-growing list of woes that plague the Mets. Three errors -- two by the defensive-oriented Luis Guillorme -- that led directly to two unearned runs which proved to be the difference in their seventh consecutive loss. For those counting at home, that's New York's second seven-game losing streak in 22 games this month.

There's only so much that can be said about the club at this point and virtually none of it good. With five days left in June, New York finds itself with the fewest wins in the National League and 14 games below .500. Let that sink in for a minute. A team that was 10 games over .500 just 12 games into the 2018 campaign has been bypassed in wins by every other team in the league. In fact, no Mets club in the last 23 years has endured a worst start to a season than Mickey Callaway's group. The 1995 Mets -- who rebounded to finish 69-75 thanks to a strong second half -- were 20-36 on June 25 of that year.

Even the worst teams bust out with a winning stretch of baseball at some point. Chances are the Mets will join that group ... but to be this bad for this long is almost impossible to fathom.

News and notes...

The Mets have dropped seven straight games, one shy of matching their season-high set from May 31-June 9. It's the first time they have endured two losing streaks of seven or more games in the same month since September 2003.

New York is 6-24 in its last 30 games, 4-18 this month and 14 games below .500 (31-45) for the season. They have one win in their last 15 games at Citi Field where they are 13-25.

The Mets have committed 11 errors in their last 10 games while the pitching staff has surrendered nine homers in its last 18 innings.

Lugo fell to 1-2 with a 3.52 ERA in five starts. He has allowed 14 runs -- nine earned -- in his last 13 innings (6.23 ERA) after tossing 10 scoreless frames in his first two starts.

Reyes' two hits represented his second multi-hit game of the season and first since April 21 when he went 3-for-4 against the Braves.

Michael Conforto went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts to snap his seven-game hitting streak.

Robert Gsellman and Bashlor allowed three runs in four innings out of the bullpen. Mets relievers have a 6.43 ERA over their last 30 games since May 25.

The Mets recalled Bashlor from Double-A Binghamton prior to the game and optioned Chris Flexen to Triple-A Las Vegas.

What's next...

The Mets (31-45) try to avoid an eighth straight loss as they face the Pirates (37-41) on Tuesday night at Citi Field at 7:00 p.m. on SNY.

Steven Matz (3-5, 3.68 ERA/5.05 FIP, 63 K, 1.282 WHIP) looks to bounce back after surrendering five runs over 5 2/3 innings against the Rockies last Thursday. All the runs scored against him came in the first two innings. Despite the poor start, Matz has a 3.10 ERA over his last nine starts. The 27-year-old allowed two runs in five innings during his only career start against the Pirates in 2016.

Chad Kuhl (5-5, 4.56 ERA/4.75 FIP, 77 Ks, 1.444 WHIP) gets the ball after surrendering a season-high eight runs over two-plus frames to the Diamondbacks last Thursday. Prior to that start, the 25-year-old right-hander had compiled a 2.89 ERA in his previous eight outings while allowing two or fewer runs five times in that span. Kuhl was charged with five runs over 4 1/3 innings in his only career start against the Mets last season.

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