SAN FRANCISCO -- Whether the Mets have a fighting chance at the playoffs will partially hinge on how they fare during this 13-game gauntlet against the Dodgers and Giants. If New York holds its own against the NL West’s heavy hitters, there’s reason for optimism. If not, the already dwindling chances of making the postseason continue to crater.

With that in mind, this stretch has begun as horribly as possible.

The Mets fell to the Giants, 7-5, on Monday for their fourth straight loss and 13th in their last 18 games. With a 59-59 record, New York now sits at .500 for the first time since May 6, and the possibility of dropping below is all too real.

“We didn’t execute some pitches. We had some missed opportunities with runners in scoring position. And that’s about it,” said manager Luis Rojas. “We can’t go outside our game, think about records or anything else that’s going on standing-wise or another team playing earlier than us.”

When New York entered the All-Star break, Baseball-Reference listed the club’s chances of making the postseason around 70 percent. Coming into play Monday, however, those odds were all the way down to 5.9 percent, a figure that dropped even further with another loss.

The script of the latest defeat was familiar enough, highlighted by the struggles with runners in scoring position.

New York avoided going a third straight game without a base knock with a runner in scoring position as Pete Alonso lined a three-bagger into Triples Alley to drive in two runs in the fifth inning. And while it doesn’t count as a hit, Dominic Smith followed up Alonso’s triple with a sacrifice fly, a piece of situational hitting.

Still, numerous opportunities were left on the table. Most notably, New York had runners on first and second with one out in the sixth inning with Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto due up, but couldn't cash in. All in all, the Mets were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position on Monday and left nine men on base, and over their last four games, they’re 3-for-36.

That’s not to say the offense was quiet. Alonso’s triple and Smith’s sacrifice fly turned New York’s two-run deficit into, at the time, a one-run lead. Jonathan Villar had a big swing of the bat as well, launching a two-run homer off Tyler Rogers in the eighth inning. Still, if the Mets are going to find their way out of the doldrums, they’ll need the big knocks.

“Overall, I thought the guys swung the bat better than we have in the last four days,” Rojas said. “We need to carry over our offense like this in the next games if we want to win those games.”

Hitting, of course, is far from the only issue plaguing these Mets. Since the All-Star break, the bullpen has had to throw 129 2/3 innings. Only the Marlins (133) have relied on their bullpen more. And the effects that come with that fatigue are starting to show.

The Giants chased Rich Hill with one out in the fourth inning after the veteran southpaw allowed five straight hits. The onus of eating innings, once again, fell on the relievers after New York’s 'pen had to eat up six innings (not including Brandon Drury and Kevin Pillar’s combined frame in the ninth) on Sunday. The typically sturdy Miguel Castro and Trevor May ended up getting tagged for a combined five runs.

“They’ve been working a lot,” Rojas said. “That’s why we did some of the things like yesterday in the game, just having guys go three innings, two innings, 40-something pitches just to give those guys a blow for games like this that are one run even with the deficit to keep the game close.”

The Mets will now turn to Marcus Stroman on Tuesday to play stopper. Every game going forward is unquestionably invaluable, but dropping below the .500 mark this late in the season would be another hurdle to overcome.

“None of us are going in there thinking about our record, but I will give you that, yeah, it is absolutely important,” J.D. Davis said.