WASHINGTON -- There may be no team in the playoff picture happier about the Mets’ fading playoff odds than the Nationals, who have been given fits by their division rivals all season long.

Washington had been one of the hottest teams until New York came into Nationals Park and took two out of three games this week, culminating with an 8-4 victory in Wednesday afternoon’s series finale. There was no dramatic late-inning rally this time, with the Nats falling to 7-12 on the year against the Mets.

• Box score

“They beat us pretty well, but that’s baseball,” shortstop Trea Turner said. “Sometimes you play well against a team based on whatever it is, matchups or bullpens or left-handed, right-handed lineups. Whatever it may be, it seems like they had our number.”

The good news for the Nationals is that their season series with the Mets is over, so unless New York can form a charge to claim the second National League Wild Card slot, these two teams will not meet again until Opening Day 2020 in New York. But Wednesday’s loss dropped the Nats to seven games behind the idle Braves in the NL East, a now daunting deficit to overcome.

But if there is a takeaway from Tuesday night’s improbable six-run comeback, it’s that these Nationals should not be counted out. As they prepare to hit the road to Atlanta and match up in seven of their next 10 games against the Braves, here are three takeaways from Wednesday’s game.

Encouraging outing for Doolittle

Sean Doolittle felt like he took a step forward with his scoreless ninth inning on Wednesday, even though he was pitching in another low-leverage role as he attempts to work his way back into closing duties.

Doolittle allowed a hit and walked a batter, but he kept the Mets from scoring, which helped him come away from the outing encouraged by his velocity, spin rates and location. It’s his second scoreless appearance since being activated on Sunday, and while he did not sound like he was ready to resume duties as the closer, he was not sure what his role will be for those crucial games against the Braves.

“Hopefully I’ll be in the mix in some capacity in Atlanta, especially with the lefties they have in their lineup,” Doolittle said. “That was good for me, too, from a mental standpoint ... [the Mets] have given me a lot of trouble this year. To navigate an inning, put up a zero, mentally that definitely helps. I don’t know what the plan is exactly, but hopefully I’ll be in the mix somewhere down there and start to be able to help.”

A void in right field

Adam Eaton was out of the starting lineup again Wednesday afternoon as he recovers from a bad bruise on his right knee, which has left the Nationals struggling to replace him.

Gerardo Parra made himself into a fan favorite in D.C. thanks to his “Baby Shark” walkup song, his contributions in the dugout and to the team’s chemistry and culture, but even after collecting a single in this game, he’s 2-for-his-last 34 with one walk and no extra-base hits.

“I truly believe he’s just pulling off a little bit,” manager Dave Martinez said. “I talked to him last night about just staying in the middle of the field again. He’s another guy where I know he doesn’t like to walk. He likes to hit. But he needs to get the ball in the strike zone and stop chasing.”

Eaton’s status for this weekend is unclear, but he is likely to be limited to pinch-hitting duties, at least at the start since the Nats don’t think he can play an entire game without his knee tightening up. And it will be interesting to see whether Martinez sticks with Parra in right field or whether he gives Andrew Stevenson or Michael A. Taylor a chance to play instead.

Off to Atlanta

The four-game series this weekend and the stretch over the next 10 games will decide whether there is any real race for the NL East crown down the stretch. Both the Nationals and Braves have playoff odds greater than 97 percent, but the Nats seem destined to appear in their first NL Wild Card Game.

Despite the fact that the Nationals have been one of the hottest teams for weeks -- 17-5 in their last 22 games and winners of 20 of their last 27 dating back to August 5 -- they haven't made up much ground on the Braves in the division, putting them in a position to need a big weekend to continue to dream of snatching a fifth division title.

Washington is 6-6 against Atlanta this season.

“I think we match up really well with them,” Doolittle said. “We’ve played some really close games against them this year. But I really don’t know. We’ve got four down there in their ballpark. I think we’re making a mistake if we start saying: ‘We have to win X out of X of these games to put ourselves in position.’”