NEW YORK -- Just when it looked like the Mets’ offense was hitting its stride on Friday, Pablo López and the Marlins' bullpen figured out a way to bring that momentum to a screeching halt.

The Mets had plenty of chances to keep the good times rolling after cruising to a lopsided win Thursday night, but Miami’s arms held them hitless in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position, with New York stranding 10 runners on base in a 5-2 loss at Citi Field.

“We just couldn’t get that big blow to put us over the hump,” manager Buck Showalter said. “That’s why we play the games [and] people come out and are interested. What it appears like on paper doesn't always happen; the love of sports is kind of driven by that. We're always trying to say, ‘This is happening, so that's going to probably lead to that.’ A lot of time it does, but when you're facing López, it's a little different gig.”

The Mets' lineup erupted for 18 runs on 26 hits in their prior two games -- wins over the Reds and Marlins on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively -- seemingly breaking out of its two-week funk. In its prior 14 games, New York had scored a total of 44 runs (3.1 per game) while going 6-8.

The two primary producers from Thursday’s 10-0 blowout win were J.D. Davis and James McCann, who combined to drive in eight runs. Neither was in the lineup Friday night against López, the Marlins right-hander who had struggled in his past six outings (4.89 ERA) after dominating in his first 10 this season (1.89 ERA).

Despite pitching brilliantly against the Mets in four career home starts, López had experienced his share of problems at Citi Field, going 0-3 with a 12.15 ERA in three career outings. That wasn’t the case Friday, as the 26-year-old altered his approach against the Mets by deploying more cutters and curveballs than he had in those three rocky starts in Queens. 

“He pitched us a little differently than he has in the past,” Jeff McNeil said. “It just wasn’t our night.” 

But it very easily could have been the Mets' night.

New York's offense showed a little life early on Friday, recording three extra-base hits in its first 10 plate appearances. Brandon Nimmo's third-inning homer tied the game at 1, but the Mets couldn’t cash in doubles by Mark Canha in the second and Starling Marte in the third, letting López off the hook both times.

McNeil led off the fourth with another double, but even after López hit Canha to put a pair of runners on base, the bottom of the Mets' lineup wasn't able to convert the opportunity into a run.

The Mets were successful in one aspect, working López’s pitch count to 93 through five innings. All four hits against López went for extra bases, and once López got through the top of the Mets' lineup for three fairly quick outs in the fifth, Marlins manager Don Mattingly decided to go to his bullpen.

“I was really proud that we grinded him, [got] him out of the game before the seventh or eighth inning where he usually seems to be pitching into,” Showalter said. “We'll have that same challenge the next two days.”

Righty Chris Bassitt kept the Mets in the game in his return from seven days on the COVID IL, holding Miami to two runs over 6 1/3 innings. But reliever Drew Smith gave up a pair of runs on a homer from Garrett Cooper in the eighth that stretched the Marlins’ lead to 4-1.

Having already gone hitless in their first six at-bats with runners in scoring position, the Mets mounted a rally in the eighth. The offense had a chance to make up for its wasted efforts against López, as Francisco Lindor’s solo blast against Steven Okert cut the lead to 4-2.

McNeil was hit by a pitch with two out, then Okert walked Canha and Davis (who was pinch-hitting for Dominic Smith), loading the bases. Citi Field had some life for the first time all night, but Eduardo Escobar -- mired in a 2-for-21 slump -- flied out to end the threat.

“We've been hitting real well, getting a lot of traffic on the bases,” McNeil said. “Last night we got those big hits when we needed them; tonight, they didn’t fall. We had some opportunities, we just didn’t get that big hit we needed. That’s baseball. We’ll forget this one and do it tomorrow.”